Delve into Darkness
by cleotheo
Summary: After two long years spent with the Order, Harry Potter is turning seventeen and preparing to leave the past behind him. Meeting up with his best friend, Hermione Granger, Harry must decide whether he should follow her lead and delve into the darkness. Dark Hermione! Dark Harry! Part 2 of the Darkness trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – This is the second part of the Darkness trilogy, and although I was originally going to wait and post it after Goddess of Victory, I decided that was too long to wait so from today there will be double darkness with both this and Goddess updating on a Monday and Friday.**

 **As for this part of the trilogy, it is 15 chapters long and is very Harry centric. That's not to say Hermione and Draco aren't in the story and don't play a part, but a lot of this part focuses on Harry and his journey to the dark side.**

* * *

On his seventeenth birthday, Harry Potter awoke with a smile on his face and only one thought in his head. Today was the day. After two excruciatingly long years, he was finally going to break free. Now he was officially an adult in the wizarding world, it was his opportunity to leave behind the people he no longer trusted. The day had been a long time coming, but now it was here, Harry was determined not to mess it up.

For the last six months, Harry had been planning carefully for this day. Two years ago, after discovering what Albus Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix had done to his best friend, Hermione Granger, Harry had decided to leave behind the Order and his life in Wizarding Britain. However, he knew that as long as he was underage he could be traced, so he'd had to patiently wait and plan for his seventeenth birthday. However, it was only within the last six months that a plan had been decided upon and put into place.

Although Harry knew that even with what seemed like a foolproof plan in place, he would still have to make sure no-one smelt a rat at the last moment. At the moment he was still stuck with the Order, in fact he now lived at headquarters and had never returned to the Dursleys in the muggle world after leaving them the summer before his fifth year. However, over the last two years, Harry had convinced all of the Order that Hermione was in the past. He no longer mentioned his best friend, and Harry was confident that all the Order believed he was fully on their side.

That wasn't to say that there wasn't tensions within the Order though, and even though he'd convinced people he'd forgotten about Hermione, some betrayals were too big for Harry to just pretend as though nothing had happened. His once close friend friendship with Ron Weasley was finished, and although the pair were still friendly, they didn't spend half as much time with each other as they'd used to. Harry also now wasn't that close to his godfather, Sirius Black, these days, despite the fact they lived together. However, Harry hid his feelings about Sirius pretty well and he knew that Sirius believed that their relationship was improving and one day would be as solid as it had once been.

Not that it really mattered what the Order thought of him, as unless Harry messed up over the course of the day, he would soon be free of them. Bursting with anticipation for the day ahead, Harry jumped out of bed and visiting the bathroom, returned to his room to get dressed. Sticking his wand into his jeans pocket, he headed over to his owl, Hedwig, who was settled in her cage.

"It's time for you to do your part," he whispered to his owl as he removed her from the cage and carried her over to the window. "Off you go to the twins, and I'll see you later."

Opening the window, Harry sent Hedwig flying out into the morning air towards her new home with the Weasley twins, Fred and George. Right from the start, the twins had been allies of Harry's as they'd shared his views on how wrong the Order had been in their treatment of Hermione. Harry had given the twins his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament, which they'd used to buy a joke shop in Diagon Alley. Harry had helped them initially set up their shop between his fifth and sixth year, and he'd helped out during the holidays.

The twins were also the only people who knew of Harry's plans to leave. In fact, he wouldn't be able to pull off the plan without them. Not only were they taking Hedwig for him, but they were causing the distraction that would give him time to get away from the Order later on that day. They also had a bag of his clothes and belongings that he'd slowly been leaving at their place, along with a stash of money he'd given them to convert into muggle money.

Once Hedwig was out of sight, Harry turned and left his bedroom. Shutting the door behind him, so that no-one would notice Hedwig wasn't in her cage, he braced himself to face his godfather one final time, before heading down to breakfast.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Sirius cried as he soon as he entered the kitchen. He was standing at the oven, stirring a large pan of scrambled eggs and frying some bacon, while the kitchen table was littered with brightly wrapped presents.

"Wow Sirius, you didn't have to go to so much trouble," Harry replied, trying to look pleased at the array of presents he knew he would be leaving behind.

"Of course I did, it's not every day you turn seventeen," Sirius replied. "Sit yourself down, Harry. Breakfast is served."

When Sirius placed a large plate of bacon and eggs down in front of him, Harry thanked his godfather and dove into the food. When everything had happened with Hermione, Harry had all but refused to eat with the Order and had often skipped meals, but as part of his attempt to try and make them think he was accepting the situation he'd come round and started eating with the others. Now he ate every meal with Sirius when he was at Grimmauld Place. Besides, he had a big day ahead of him and it was just cutting off his nose to spite his face to refuse to eat.

"That was great," Harry said once he was finished and he deposited his plate into the sink.

"Leave the washing up and open your presents, Harry," Sirius called, urging Harry back to the table.

Sitting back down at the table, Harry put on a good display of enthusiasm as he opened his array of presents. Most of the presents were from Sirius, but there were one and two from other members of the Order.

"Thank you, Sirius," Harry said.

"You're welcome, Harry," Sirius returned with a beaming smile. "Let's leave your presents here. I'm sure you'll have more to join them when we get back from The Burrow."

The Weasleys were throwing Harry a birthday party at their home that day, and it was from The Burrow that Harry intended to disappear. Between the general chaos and noise of the Weasley home, combined with the distraction Fred and George had agreed to provide, Harry was confident he would slip away unnoticed. And hopefully by the time his absence was noticed he would be long gone from the wizarding world and safe in the obscurity of the muggle world.

"Should we go now?" Sirius asked his godson. "I know it's still early, but I'm sure Molly will appreciate the help. And maybe you and Ron could got for a fly."

"Maybe," Harry replied non-committally as he made sure to grab his best jacket. Once he left everything else in the house would be lost to him, so Harry had made sure that he had anything he would want on his person.

The pair flooed to The Burrow, where the Weasleys were in the midst of their party preparations. Harry had to endure Molly fussing over him before he was allowed out into the back garden, where Ron and Ginny were placing a large table, which would be packed with food, under some shelter.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Ginny called, grinning widely and waving when she spotted Harry exiting the house.

"Happy Birthday," Ron added with a smaller smile. He was well aware that his relationship with Harry had been damaged two years ago, but they were still friends and he lived in hopes that one day Harry would truly move on and things would get back to how they used to be.

"Thanks," Harry replied, walking over to the two redheads. "Can I help?"

"It's your party, Harry, we're not going to make you help us," Ginny tutted.

"But the quicker you get done, the quicker we can hang out," Harry said. "I thought we could go for a fly."

"In that case, help us put the shade up over the table," Ron said. "Then we have to hang the bunting, blow up the balloons and set up a table at the bottom of the garden for the twins."

"Why do the twins need a table at the bottom of the garden?" Harry asked, faking a frown, even though he knew full well what the twins were planning.

"It was going to be a surprise," Ginny said, shooting her brother an annoyed look.

"Harry does have eyes, he'd see what they were up to the second they arrived," Ron shot back. "They've been working on some new fireworks and they're organising a display for later this afternoon," he informed Harry.

"Wow," Harry remarked with a low whistle. "That should be fun."

"It should be," Ron agreed with an eager nod as Harry helped them fix the rest of the shade over the table.

From there the trio moved onto decorating the back garden, before placing a table at the bottom of the garden for the twins to set up their fireworks. With everything sorted they informed Molly they were off for a quick fly and headed off to the nearby orchard that provided protection from anyone from the nearby muggle areas spotting them. It had been a while since Harry had spent as much time with Ron and Ginny, and he found himself missing the way things had once been. However, he knew there was no going back and even though they also didn't speak of Hermione, he knew it was for different reasons. Ron and Ginny both hated Hermione for who her father had turned out to be, and Harry knew that if they ever saw her again, they could class her as their enemy. Still, once upon a time everything had been so perfect and Harry missed the simple days when Hermione was with them and none of the nasty secrets from the past had been exposed and ruined everything.

Harry was still in a slightly reflective mood as they headed back to The Burrow, where Molly was busy laying out the party food. As the rest of the Weasleys, members of the Order, and other friends began to arrive, Harry couldn't help but wish that things had been different. His seventeenth birthday should have been a time of celebration with everyone he loved in attendance, but thanks to Dumbledore, Hermione had left the country two years ago and now he too was breaking away from the Order and everything bad they'd done in the name of bringing down Voldemort.

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" a voice whispered in Harry's ear.

Turning around, Harry came face to face with the Weasley twins. Normally the pair had smiles on their faces, but they looked deadly serious as they studied Harry.

"No, I'm doing the right thing," Harry confirmed. "I guess I just miss the way things used to be."

"Join the club," Fred said with a sigh.

Since finding out what had been done to Hermione, the twins had drifted away from their family. As soon as they'd finished school, they'd used the money Harry had given them to not only but a shop, but the flat above it. These days they rarely visited The Burrow unless it was for a special occasion and they downright refused to have anything to do with the Order and their fight against Voldemort.

"And things won't be the same around here without you, Harry," George added in a low voice.

"I'm going to miss you guys," Harry said, smiling at the twins. "Thanks for everything you've done for me. I never could have done this alone."

"We're just doing what's right," George said.

"Is everything set then?" Harry asked.

"It is," Fred confirmed with a nod. "Just leave the chaos up to us. Once everything kicks off here, you need to leave. We've altered the wards around the flat to allow you to apparate directly into the front room."

"And we've left your bag and money on the coffee table," George added. "Just make sure to lock the door when you leave."

"I will," Harry confirmed with a nod. "And make sure to look after Hedwig. She did reach you this morning, didn't she?"

"She did," Fred answered. "Don't worry Harry, she'll be fine. I just hope you will be."

"I will," Harry said assuredly. "I have a plan."

"We know," George said with a small smile. "And make sure you give Hermione our love."

"Yeah, let her know that we haven't all turned our backs on her," Fred said.

"Will do," Harry replied, flashing the twins a reassuring smile before the trio headed off to enjoy the party before the fireworks began.

After a couple of hours, Harry was starting to tire of smiling and being nice to people he no longer respected. As a result he was tending to spend his time with the people he did still like and trust, and that included his good friend, Neville Longbottom. Unlike some people who had doubted Hermione and believed the lies that were spread about her, Neville had believed Harry without question and had shared the views that Hermione had been badly treated.

"It's not the same is it?" Neville said quietly as he and Harry were sitting off to the side of the garden, each with a small plate of food and a glass of pumpkin juice.

"What isn't the same?" Harry asked.

"Life," Neville sighed. "Do you ever think of her?"

Harry didn't need to ask who Neville was talking about, as the only her he could mean was Hermione, so he nodded his head. "All the time. Do you?"

"Yes," Neville whispered. "She was my first friend at Hogwarts. She helped me find Trevor when everyone else just laughed at me. Do you think she's okay?"

"I know she is," Harry replied. Even though he didn't know where Hermione was, he did know she was okay as they'd been corresponding for the last two years. In fact Hermione was in on his plan to escape and once he left the wizarding world, he was going to be reunited with his best friend.

"I know she writes to you, but it would be nice to see her for ourselves. Just to be sure she really is okay," Neville said.

"Maybe one day," Harry said, wishing he could confide in Neville about his plan. Not that he didn't trust Neville to keep his plan a secret, he just didn't want to put his friend in a difficult position as Neville's gran had joined the Order and she wanted nothing more than to bring down Voldemort and his dark forces.

Neville nodded his agreement just as Ron approached them. However, before Ron got a chance to ask what they pair were talking about, Fred emerged from the house carrying a small box of red and gold coloured rockets.

"Hey Ron, put these with the other fireworks," he ordered his brother, handing over the box. "But be careful, they're pretty sensitive."

"Anyone would think I was a House Elf the way I'm bossed around in this place," Ron muttered as he headed off towards the table at the bottom of the garden, which was now packed with boxes both on top and below the wooden structure.

Getting up to grab some fresh drinks for himself and Neville, Harry missed exactly what happened when Ron put the box of rockets with the other fireworks. All he heard was a loud squeal and he turned around in time to see Ron being chased by a rocket emitting red smoke. At the same time a loud explosion rocked the back garden of The Burrow and in a rush of confusion, fireworks began to crack and explode, creating a crackle of noise and light.

"What the hell?" Neville cried, jumping to his feet and abandoning his food.

"Ron, what did you do?" Fred exploded as he and George took off towards the fireworks.

Not that Ron had any answer for his brother, as he was still running around the garden with a steaming rocket on his tail. With more and more fireworks continuing to go off, the noise and confusion reached fever pitch. Almost everyone made their way towards the bottom of the garden to see if they could help bring some order to proceedings. That was, everyone but Harry. The second the fireworks had started, he knew that this was his distraction.

Harry hung around long enough to make sure that there really was enough chaos to cover his leaving, and once he was sure no-one would notice him leaving, he slipped out of The Burrow's back garden and apparated away with a small crack that no-one heard amidst the chaos of Fred and George's fireworks going off prematurely.

As it turned out it took nearly fifteen minutes for Fred and George to save the fireworks that hadn't yet gone off and for the ones that had to cease their display. In that time several people had been chased around the garden by rogue rockets, including Molly who had been chased into the house and Ginny who had resorted to climbing a tree to escape her rogue rocket.

"What on earth happened?" Arthur demanded of the twins as peace was finally restored.

"Some idiot dropped one of the sensitive rockets into one of the boxes of fireworks on the floor," George said, shooting Ron and annoyed glare.

"I did not," Ron protested.

"I gave you the rockets to take down to the table," Fred said. "And I warned you to be careful as they were sensitive."

"Sensitive, they were bloody out of control," Ron spat. "I was chased by one for five minutes. Mum's still hiding in the house, and Ginny is stuck up a tree."

"Set off properly they would have chased each other and spelled out 'Happy Seventeenth Birthday, Harry'," George explained.

"And now thanks to you, our birthday treat for Harry is ruined," Fred grumbled.

"I'm sure Harry will understand," Sirius said. "Don't you Harry?" he called, looking around the garden and frowning when he couldn't see his godson. "Harry? Has anyone seen Harry?"

"He's probably hiding from those lunatic rockets," Ron muttered, glaring at the twins.

However, Ron's prediction was totally wrong and once everyone had been rounded up and checked for injury there was still no sign of Harry. In all of the confusion, no-one could remember seeing anything untoward, but a full search of The Burrow and the garden revealed that Harry was gone.

"But where has he gone?" Sirius whispered to himself as he gazed around The Burrow's gardens, as if expecting to find Harry was still there. But he wasn't, his godson was long gone and it would be quite a while before Sirius set eyes on Harry again.


	2. Chapter 2

On the day of Harry's seventeenth birthday, Hermione Granger, awoke in England for the first time in almost two years. Since leaving England with her father, Severus and the Malfoys just days before what would have been her fifth year at Hogwarts, Hermione hadn't set foot in the country of her birth. However, she was back in the country for a limited time, and she had no plans to even enter the wizarding world over the course of her brief visit.

Currently Hermione was settled in a luxury two bedroomed penthouse suite in a posh hotel located in the centre of Muggle London, with only Draco Malfoy for company. The two teenagers were in the country to meet Harry Potter, before travelling with him to another destination where they would join up with the adults and some decisions about the future would be made.

After rising at the crack of dawn, Hermione had showered and dressed without Draco even stirring. She even ordered breakfast from room service without the blond even making an attempt to get out of bed. However, once breakfast had arrived and was laid out in the living room, Hermione's patience snapped and she stalked into the bedroom where the blond wizard was still sleeping.

"Draco," Hermione called, shaking the sleeping wizard by the shoulder.

Getting no response she yanked back the covers, trying not to get too distracted by his half naked state. After developing a firm friendship the summer she'd discovered the truth about her past, they'd only gotten closer once they'd left England and started a new life in a foreign country. Inevitably they'd started dating a little under a year ago, and over the last couple of months, things had been getting hot and heavy between them. The previous evening they'd even shared a bed, despite the two rooms as one was for Harry, but they'd yet to take the final step in their relationship. Although one reason they hadn't done anything was that they'd both made a promise to Voldemort not to further their relationship while they were away and unsupervised.

"Draco," Hermione repeated in an exasperated tone, tickling her boyfriend in the ribs as she knew he was ticklish. Sure enough the trick worked and Draco jerked awake, batting her hand away in irritation.

"Damn it, Hermione," he muttered sleepily. "Didn't you learn anything from Hogwarts? You never tickle a sleeping dragon."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the mention of their old school's motto. "Idiot," she grumbled. "Get up or I'll pour a jug water over your head."

"You wouldn't dare," Draco murmured, making no move to get out of bed.

"Do you really want to try me?" Hermione asked in a low whisper as she leaned over her boyfriend. "We both know that these days there isn't much I wouldn't do. Not get up before I lose my temper."

"Alright, alright, I'm up," Draco grouched, finally getting out of bed.

He didn't really think Hermione would drench him in cold water, but he did know she was right about being capable of almost anything and he didn't want to get on the wrong side of her. In the years they'd been away both of them had embraced their darker side, but Hermione especially could be pretty vicious. Her anger at what Dumbledore and the Order had done to her as a child had resulted in her unleashing the darkness within and these days you could be forgiven for thinking she'd been raised by Voldemort from birth to be a dangerous and deadly witch.

"Breakfast is in the living room when you're ready," Hermione informed her boyfriend as she left him to use the bathroom and get ready for the day ahead.

Ten minutes later, something of a record for Draco, he joined her in the living room and they enjoyed their breakfast together. However, no sooner had they finished eating than Hermione announced that they needed to get ready and be off to meet Harry.

"It's only the middle of the morning, we're not meeting him until this afternoon," Draco pointed out.

"We think it'll be this afternoon," Hermione corrected. "Harry couldn't give us an exact time. I'd rather be there early and have to wait."

"Great, we get to spend a day freezing our arses off waiting for Potter," Draco grumbled under his breath.

"Firstly, it's the middle of summer, it's not freezing," Hermione replied, having heard her boyfriend. "And secondly, if it's too much hassle, I can go alone."

"No way," Draco snorted. "And I know you can look after yourself," he quickly added, sensing Hermione was about to argue that she didn't need looking after. "But we promised The Dark Lord we would do this together. He would kill me if I let you out of my sight and someone got hold of you while we were here."

"No-one is getting hold of me," Hermione said in a low voice which hinted at the darkness that now bubbled in her blood.

"I don't doubt it, but we still stick to the plan," Draco retorted.

"Fine, then get ready so we can leave," Hermione ordered.

Even though he clearly wasn't happy with leaving so early, Draco didn't complain further as they got ready and left the safety of the muggle hotel. Being in the muggle world wasn't something Draco was entirely comfortable with, but he knew Hermione was perfectly at home and capable of taking charge in what was for him a strange world. Besides, it had been decided that even though Harry was now old enough for his under-age trace to have been removed, it was safer if they stayed in the muggle world until they could leave the country again.

Within half an hour they arrived at their destination, a muggle park a few streets away from where The Leaky Cauldron had it's muggle entrance. Draco was slightly worried about the pair of them being recognised, so as they settled down on a bench beside a small duck pond, he kept his eyes open for people who clearly didn't belong in the muggle world. Not that there was many people around at all, and even the muggles were few and far between.

"It's hardly the most cutting edge part of London," Hermione remarked when Draco commented on the lack of people. "And I'm fairly sure that even those using the muggle entrance to The Leaky Cauldron won't have to come this way."

"Are you sure Potter will be able to find us?" Draco asked.

"He'll find us," Hermione replied. "Not that you sound too happy about it," she added with a frown.

She'd been the driving force in helping with Harry's plans to escape the Order, and she'd worked hard to convince her father and the others that Harry was genuine in his letters and could be trusted. As it was, Harry would still have to prove himself before he was allowed to get anywhere near their new residence, but at least her father had agreed to give her best friend the benefit of the doubt. As for Draco, he'd been pretty supportive of Hermione's plans involving Harry, but since arriving in London there'd been a distinct edge to his voice whenever Harry was mentioned.

"I'm just worried about you," Draco confessed with a shrug, his grey eyes which were hidden behind a pair of designer sunglasses, continuing to dart around their surroundings as he remained on high alert.

"I thought we settled this ages ago," Hermione sighed. "These letters from Harry are genuine. This isn't a trap by the Order. I really don't think they would spend two years laying the groundwork for a trap."

"I agree that Potter's letters are genuine," Draco said. "But that's not why I'm worried."

"Then why are you?" Hermione asked her boyfriend.

"I'm worried you're expecting more from him than he's going to deliver," he replied. "You're just expecting him to welcome you with open arms, and join us back home."

"I don't think it'll be quite that simple," Hermione conceded.

"I'm not even sure it'll happen," Draco admitted. "I think there's a good chance that once Potter comes face to face with your father he'll realise he can't do this. It's one thing to leave the Order behind, but another to join forces with his enemy."

"No decisions have been made on the future yet," Hermione replied. "Harry hasn't agreed to join us."

"And I think you need to prepare for the fact that he won't," Draco warned. "He might very well walk away from us after deciding that he can't team up with your father. And if that happens, I'm worried that you'll take it badly."

Hermione silently took in what Draco was saying as she watched him continue to scan their surroundings. With a small smile, she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Draco asked in surprise.

"I won't leave you," Hermione said. "That's what you're really worried about, isn't it? You're worried that if Harry chooses to walk away, I'll walk away with him."

"I might have considered that," Draco admitted in a quiet voice.

"It won't happen," Hermione assured her boyfriend, taking hold of his hand. "I'll admit that when I found out the truth, I was adamant I wasn't going to join my father in his fight. But I've changed in the last two years. I want my revenge. I want to take my place at my father's side. My life is with him, and you, and Severus and your parents. I love you all, and I wouldn't leave you for anything. Not even Harry."

Feeling a bit more secure, Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione and pulled her closer as they settled back to wait for Harry to turn up. Although while Hermione kept her eyes open for her best friend, Draco was alert and prepared for any danger that might come their way. Fortunately, it was a quiet day and they were virtually alone in the park until Harry made his appearance.

* * *

Because of when his birthday was, Harry hadn't officially passed his apparition test when he left The Burrow. However, he'd taken all of the lessons in sixth year and was accomplished enough to reach the twins flat over their shop unscathed. However, he didn't know if he could be traced because he wasn't legally allowed to travel by apparition. Not that he planned on sticking around to be traced, and from now on his use of magic would be limited as he was heading into the muggle world.

No sooner had Harry arrived at the twins flat, then he was preparing to leave again. He said a quick goodbye to Hedwig, who was settling into her new cage in the corner of the room, before turning his attention to the table where his bag and money were sitting. Not bothering to count the money, as he trusted the twins had been exchanging it correctly, Harry stuffed the large envelope into the bottom of his backpack. He then found some parchment and ink and wrote a quick note to the twins thanking them for their help.

"This is it, Hedwig, wish me luck," he called as he exited the flat and passing through the shop, he securely locked it up behind himself as he entered Diagon Alley.

Due to the amount of time he spent helping the twins in their shop during the holidays, Harry was a regular around the busy magical shopping street so no-one batted an eyelid when he exited the twins shop and headed towards The Leaky Cauldron. Thankfully The Leaky Cauldron was the sort of place where no-one gave their fellow drinkers another look so Harry was able to pass through the pub without question. No-one even batted an eyelid when he slipped out of the door that led into the muggle world.

"Freedom," he whispered to himself once he was outside of the pub.

However, Harry knew that he wasn't free and clear just yet so without another look at the world he'd just left behind, he set off towards the park he'd arranged to meet Hermione in. Harry had to admit he'd never noticed the park before, but Hermione had given him directions so he was confident of finding the park. Luckily Hermione's directions were perfect and it was less than a five minute walk from The Leaky Cauldron to the park where Hermione was waiting for him.

The second he reached the park's boundary, Harry spotted Hermione sitting on a park bench. Vaguely he was aware that she wasn't alone, she was with Draco, but Harry only had eyes for his best friend. Looking at Hermione, he realised she was looking great in a pair of dark jeans, deep purple top and black jacket. Her long brunette hair seemed slightly darker than normal and she was wearing it tied in a long ponytail. More importantly, she looked content and settled in her new life.

Making his way towards his best friend, Harry hadn't even managed to get half way before Hermione spotted him and was on her feet. Running towards each other the pair ran straight into each other and Harry swept Hermione into his arms and happily swung her around in the air.

"I've missed you so much," he said as they separated far enough to exchanged warm smiles.

"I've missed you too, Harry," Hermione returned. "At one point, I thought I would never see you again. Or rather I thought I would never see you again as my friend."

"I will always be your friend," Harry vowed. "I meant every word in my letters, Hermione. My loyalty is with you."

"Even when I'm The Dark Lord's daughter?" Hermione asked. "Even when I tell you that I love him, and I plan to be by his side when he brings Dumbledore down?"

"Always," Harry replied seriously. "I love you, Hermione. Who your father is, doesn't change that."

"I love you too, Harry," Hermione returned.

"As heart-warming as this is, I think it's time we were moving on," Draco interrupted in a bored sounding drawl. "We are still very close to the wizarding world, and we don't want anyone to see us."

Even though Harry knew Draco was there, his interruption still caught him by surprise. Although when he turned his attention to the blond, he got a surprise by what he saw. He was used to seeing Draco in either his school robes or smart trousers and a shirt with perfectly near hair. But the young man in front of him was wearing muggle jeans, a dark blue t-shirt and a black jacket. His hair was also casually styled, and he was wearing a pair of dark glasses.

"Whoa Malfoy, I hardly recognised you," Harry chuckled. "You're looking very muggle."

"We are in the muggle world," Draco pointed out and even though his eyes were covered, Harry sensed he was rolling them at him. "And as I said, we're just minutes away from the wizarding world. We don't want to risk hanging around and having someone spotting us."

"Draco's right, we need to go," Hermione said.

"Go where?" Harry asked. His plan had been to get to Hermione, who'd promised him that she had a plan.

"First, I thought we could celebrate your birthday," Hermione said with a smile. "Then we can go back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep."

"You're going to need it for what's in store for you tomorrow," Draco chuckled as the trio began to make their way out of the park and away from the wizarding world.

"Just what is in store for me tomorrow?" Harry asked warily.

"You get to face the three wizards who would die to protect Hermione," Draco replied. "I like to call them the three fathers."

"Three fathers?" Harry repeated with a bewildered frown.

"Stop scaring him, Draco," Hermione scolded. "You knew you would have to face my father, Harry. But he won't hurt you, I can promise you that."

"I was prepared for Voldemort," Harry admitted. "But who else do I have to face?"

"My father and Severus," Draco answered. "The Dark Lord might be Hermione's biological father, but Severus and Father love her as well and are fiercely protective of her. And don't forget me, Potter. I'm warning you now, if you do anything to hurt Hermione or put her in danger, I will tear you limb from limb."

At one time Harry would have laughed at Draco's threat and considered it an empty one, but he could hear the conviction in the blond's voice. Besides, it was a relief for him to know that Hermione hadn't been alone for the last two years. She'd had support and had been surrounded by people who loved her. Now Harry just had to hope that somewhere in Hermione's new life there was room for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Once it had been established that Harry was no longer at The Burrow, a major search was launched. Sirius and his best friend, Remus Lupin, made a trip down to the local village to see if anyone had seen Harry, while Arthur triple checked the wards around The Burrow. By the time the two wizards returned to the house, Arthur had already called in reinforcements in the form of the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore.

"No-one in the village has seen him," Sirius informed the awaiting group when he and Remus returned. "And neither Remus or I can pick up any of his scent."

As an animagi, who turned into a large black dog, Sirius had a heightened sense of smell when he chose to use it. Remus also had the same gift due to the fact he was a werewolf, but like Sirius he only tended to use the ability in an emergency.

"He didn't use the floo to leave," Molly said.

"I did check the wards and there were a few ripples around the time the fireworks were going off," Arthur added. "However, the wards were on their lowest setting with everyone in the house, so I can't pinpoint who caused the ripples."

"To be honest, it could have been anyone," Nymphadora Tonks said. "With the way those rockets were going off people were ducking for cover, and someone could have easily passed through the wards without noticing."

"Exactly," Arthur agreed with a nod. "Which leaves us no further forward. Harry's gone, but how and when remains a mystery."

"Didn't you say you called Dumbledore?" Sirius asked. "Where is he?"

"He's on his way," Arthur replied. "I explained the situation, and he said he had a visit to make before he arrived."

"What sort of a visit?" Sirius demanded. "What could be more important than this? My godson is missing, and in case it's escaped anyone's notice, we've still got a war on our hands. You-Know-Who may not have struck in the way we feared, but he's still out there causing trouble and Harry is the only one who can defeat him."

"I'm sure whatever Dumbledore is doing is important," Molly said soothingly.

"It bloody better be," Sirius grumbled, pacing the kitchen as he tried to work out how to find his godson.

Sirius was still packing the kitchen nearly ten minutes later when there was a quiet knock on the kitchen door and Albus Dumbledore entered the house. The headmaster had a serious expression on his face, and everyone in the room could tell that whatever he had to say wasn't good news.

"You've found him, haven't you?" Sirius whispered, sliding into an empty chair before he fell over. "He's dead, isn't he? He was snatched in the midst of the chaos and killed, wasn't he?"

"As far as I know, Harry is still very much alive," Dumbledore answered. "Isn't he?" he asked, turning his attention to Fred and George, who were standing slightly separate from the group.

"Why are you looking at the twins?" Molly questioned with a frown. "They don't know anything."

"I think they do, Molly," Dumbledore said. "Before I came here, I paid a visit to the Ministry. Obviously since Harry turned seventeen his under-age magical trace has been deactivated, but given what Arthur told me about his disappearance, I did wonder if he'd merely apparated away."

"And you can trace apparition?" Ginny questioned hopefully.

"Not without a warrant, or using illegal magic to tap into someone's apparition trail," Tonks answered. As an Auror, she knew all about tracking people via their apparition trail.

"But you can track any illegal apparition," Dumbledore reminded her. "And since Harry wasn't due to take his test until next week, any apparating he does is illegal."

"And did he apparate?" Sirius asked.

"Someone illegally apparated from directly outside of The Burrow's boundary line at the time Harry went missing," Dumbledore replied. "Whether it was Harry can't be proved, but the timing is suspicious. As is the place they apparated to."

"And where was that?" Ron demanded.

"Diagon Alley," Dumbledore answered, his attention once again focused on the twins. "To be precise, the flat above Weasleys Wizard Wheezes."

"I don't understand," Molly muttered as Sirius let out a low snarl and was only stopped from jumping out of his seat by Remus, who held his friend back.

"I think the answer is very obvious," Dumbledore said calmly. "Harry left of his own free will, and he was helped by the twins."

"No, they wouldn't do that," Ginny insisted, stubbornly shaking her head.

"Of course they wouldn't," Molly agreed. "Tell them boys," she ordered the twins.

"Yes, we helped," George said.

"And we would do it again," Fred added.

"You bastards, I'm going to kill you," Sirius roared, trying to break free of Remus's surprisingly firm grip. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The danger you've put Harry in."

"Harry knew what he was doing," Fred scoffed with a sharp laugh. "He's been planning this for two years."

"No, he wouldn't," Sirius muttered, the energy seeming to drain from him at the revelation that Harry had been planning on leaving for so long. "He'd accepted things."

"Do you honestly think he was ever going to accept things?" George asked sharply. "Did you honestly think anyone with any morals was going to accept what you'd done to Hermione? Harry just knew he had to wait until he was seventeen and you couldn't trace him. He was always going to leave, with or without our help."

"We just did the right thing and gave him as much support as he needed," Fred said.

"You mean he paid you off," Ron snorted in disgust. "This is why he gave you that money last year, isn't it? He was buying your loyalty."

"No, he was investing in our business," George corrected his brother. "And even without his investment, we still would have helped him. We did it because he's our friend, and quite honestly we can understand why he wants to be as far away as possible from the Order."

"How much of a role did the pair of you play in his leaving?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you know where he is now?"

"We have no idea where he is now," George said. "Hopefully far enough away, so that you lot can't catch up with him."

"As for our part, we caused the distraction that allowed him to get away," Fred replied. "We also kept his bag for him at our place, and we're looking after Hedwig for him. Once he left here, he was heading to ours to get his bag, then he was leaving."

"How could you do this?" Molly cried, looking at the twins in disgust. "How could you turn on us this way?"

"The answer to all the questions you want to know about Harry's vanishing act lie in what happened two years ago," Fred said. "If you want to know why we helped him, or why Harry would leave, just think back to what happened. Just remember that this was caused by your actions regarding Hermione. You lot caused this, first by kidnapping her as a baby, and then by plotting to kill her as a teenager. Given what you did to his best friend, can you honestly blame him for leaving?"

"And what about the rest of us?" Ron asked in a choked up voice. "What about me? I was his friend. I didn't run off like she did. I stayed by his side."

"You did, but you also condoned what had happened to Hermione," George pointed out. "You weren't disgusted like we were. You were just concerned over who her father happened to be. Let's be honest Ron, if you'd overheard Mum and Sirius talking, you would have backed their plan. Harry knew that, and that is why he was able to leave you."

"Is he with her?" Sirius asked, finally regaining enough control to talk without completely losing it. "Is my godson with her and that monster she calls father?"

"We don't know where Harry is," George replied. "Or who he's with."

"But if he is with Hermione, I think you all need to watch your backs," Fred added. "I don't think you quite realise just how much your actions have affected Harry. He didn't just leave because he couldn't accept what you'd done, he left because he hated everyone involved in what had happened to Hermione. And given what you did to her, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Hermione also hated you."

Fred's warning sent a shiver down the spines of everyone in the room. They had no way of knowing if Fred was right and they did need to watch their backs, but they had to admit he had a point about Hermione possibly hating them. They just couldn't believe that Harry could also hate them, or at least not with such a passion that he would join forces with the enemy.

"We won't give up," Sirius said, glaring at the twins. "You may have helped Harry leave, but we're not giving up on him. We will find him, and we will bring him home."

"Good luck with that," George said as he and Fred headed towards the back door.

"But how on earth are you going to bring back an adult wizard who doesn't want to be with you?" Fred questioned as he and George made their departure, leaving the others to ponder the future and wonder if indeed they would be able to bring Harry back into the fold and once again make him part of the Order.

* * *

While there was a major fuss going on over his disappearance in the wizarding world, Harry was having the perfect afternoon in the muggle world with Hermione. Even though Draco was with them, he kept himself to himself so it felt as though it was just the two of them as they took in some of the famous sights in the capital city. For hours they just enjoyed each other's company without really mentioning anything that had happened in the past, or the complex situation they were currently in.

It wasn't until they headed into a casual restaurant for some food that Harry realised that he and Hermione had so much to catch up with. When they'd picked a booth, he and Draco had automatically settled on different side, but Hermione had slid into the booth next to Draco and Harry couldn't miss the intimate smile they shared.

"Bloody hell, you're together," he blurted out, staring at the couple and wondering how he hadn't seen it earlier.

"You're only just noticing?" Draco asked, raising a surprised eyebrow.

"To be fair, you have pretty much let Harry and I focus on each other," Hermione said to her boyfriend. "And yes, Harry, we're together. Is that a problem?"

"No, just unexpected," Harry answered. To be honest he wasn't sure if it was a problem or not as he'd never considered that when he was reunited with Hermione she would have a boyfriend.

"That seems to be the common consensus," Draco remarked with a slight frown.

"Who else was surprised?" Harry asked.

"No-one was surprised exactly," Hermione replied. "I think everyone had been expecting us to get together, they were just cautious when it happened."

"Why?"

"The three fathers just wanted to be sure we were together for the right reasons," Draco answered. "They wanted to be sure that we were together because we cared for each other, not just because we were the only other teenagers we had contact with. I had several lectures on making sure I was sure of what I was doing."

"I didn't have lots of lectures," Hermione remarked with a frown. "Once I insisted we were sure about being together, I was left alone."

"That's because you're the favourite," Draco griped, but Harry could tell he was just teasing. "The three fathers dote on you, and even mother is always on your side. I was the one they pressed and interrogated."

"Even your father?" Harry questioned as Hermione merely chuckled at her boyfriend's complaints.

"Especially my father," Draco replied. "Sometimes I think my parents forget that I'm their child, not Hermione. Honestly, Potter, if you're going to be joining us, you're going to have to get used to Hermione being the centre of everyone's universe."

"I am not the centre of everyone's universe," Hermione argued.

"You are to the people who love you, and that's all of us," Draco replied softly, his attention firmly on Hermione.

When Hermione leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against Draco's, Harry found that he couldn't look away from the couple. Not only did they look very attractive together, but he could really see how much they cared for one another. Despite everything that had happened to Hermione, at least something good had come out of it as she'd clearly found someone who loved her very much.

"Sorry," Hermione apologised to Harry when she finally pulled herself away from Draco. "I hope we didn't make you uncomfortable."

"It's nice to see you so happy," Harry replied. "And you are, aren't you? I can really see it now. You're glowing. And I don't just think it's because Malfoy is a good kisser."

"I am pretty exceptional," Draco agreed with a smirk.

"You'll do," Hermione retorted with a roll of her eyes. "And you're right, Harry. I am happy. Two years ago I thought my life was ruined. Everything I'd ever known about my life was torn apart and I found out that everything was a lie. I was scared, not just of the Order and what they'd done to me, but of my father. I didn't want to be his daughter."

"But that's obviously changed," Harry said.

"It has," Hermione replied with a nod. "Truthfully, it started to change that first summer. When I met him I found out that he wasn't the man I expected him to be. Or rather, there was more to him than I expected. I won't lie to you Harry, the bad reputation he's got is deserved. But there is more to him than being The Dark Lord, hell bent on death and destruction."

"There must be if he's agreed to see me," Harry said. In his letters to Hermione it hadn't been discussed a lot, but they'd talked about him joining up with the so called dark side, and more than once Hermione had mentioned him meeting her father. "He is still willing to see me, isn't he?"

"As I said before Potter, the three fathers are all dying to question you," Draco said, smirking slightly at the prospect of Harry being interrogated by the three wizards.

"The meeting will take place as arranged," Hermione confirmed. "Unless you want to change your mind, Harry. I would understand if you can't bring yourself to join forces with my father. Even if you can't do that, we'll still help you get well out of the Order's reach."

"I can't really agree to anything at this moment," Harry admitted, knowing that he still had a lot of thinking to do before he pledged himself to serve the wizard who had killed his parents and had tried to kill him. "But I will still meet your father. And what about your mother? Do I get to meet her as well?"

"That won't be possible," Hermione said sadly, and Harry automatically regretted his question at the look of grief that appeared on his best friend's face. "She's dead."

"I had no idea, I'm so sorry Hermione," Harry said, reaching across the table and taking hold of Hermione's hand. "We don't have to talk about it."

"It's okay, it's probably best that you know what happened so you don't put your foot in it with my father," Hermione replied. "You know how I was taken as a child, but what the Order either don't know, or didn't want to tell you, was that my mother was so broken by my supposed death that she ended up taking her own life."

"That's terrible," Harry gasped with a shake of his head. As if the Order hadn't done enough to Hermione, they'd also cost her to lose her mother, and quite honestly he couldn't see how Hermione, or Voldemort for that matter, would ever be able to rest until the past was avenged.

"It is, and understandably my father is a bit sensitive about it," Hermione said. "So don't mention my mother unless he brings up the subject."

"Noted," Harry said with a nod. "And I really am sorry Hermione. For everything. How you've been treated is so wrong, and I can't for one minute condone anything that was done to you."

"I appreciate that Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "Now enough with this sad talk. It's your birthday and we should be celebrating. Let's have some food and get back to the hotel. I don't think anyone will be looking for you in the muggle world, Harry, but just in case, we should probably be getting back to safety."

"Are we staying in a muggle hotel?" Harry asked, only too happy to try and get the mood back to it's previous happiness.

"We are, in the penthouse suite," Hermione confirmed. "You'll even have your own room. I was thinking that when we got back, we could order some ice-cream from room service and have a good catch-up."

"Sounds good to me," Harry replied, smiling back at his friend. He couldn't think of a better birthday present than being reunited with Hermione, and he didn't want the day to end.


	4. Chapter 4

Draco was just thinking about closing his book and settling down for the night, when Hermione entered the bedroom they were sharing in the penthouse suite. Upon arriving back at the hotel, Draco had left Hermione and Harry to reconnect while he had a relaxing evening with his book. He knew that their reunion that afternoon had gone well despite his presence, however he suspected that Harry might be more comfortable alone with Hermione, hence his decision to spend the evening alone and give the two old friends some space to talk.

"How did it go?" Draco asked as Hermione shut the bedroom door behind her.

"Good," Hermione replied with a nod of her head. "We had a good talk, and I really think Harry will consider any offer Father makes him."

"But will he accept, or will you be saying goodbye to him again tomorrow?" Draco asked.

"I hope he accepts and we get to spend more time together," Hermione answered. "He certainly hates the Order enough to stand against them. Especially now he knows the full story of everything the Order took from me."

"But does he hate them enough to align himself with The Dark Lord?" Draco countered.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," Hermione replied with a shrug. "But even if he chooses to walk away, I do know he won't be fighting for the Order. He was very clear on the fact he wants nothing more to do with them."

"So the Order are without their saviour. Your father will be thrilled," Draco mused. "It gives him the advantage."

"We've had the advantage for a long time, Father is just choosing not to press it until I can be by his side," Hermione replied as she rummaged in her bag for her nightwear.

Truth be told, Hermione felt as though she was already prepared to face the Order, but Voldemort was adamant that there would be no fighting for her or Draco until they'd finished their education and he was personally satisfied they could handle themselves in any dangerous situation.

"I won't be a minute," Hermione said as she darted into the bathroom.

Draco used the opportunity to quickly finish his chapter, before placing the book on the bedside table. However, before he could get totally settled and ready for sleep, Hermione emerged from the bathroom wearing a tiny pair of silky emerald green shorts and a matching strappy top. Draco merely stared at the sight of his girlfriend in her skimpy pyjamas, wondering where they had come from and what she was up to. The previous evening she'd worn a pair of lilac and white pyjamas, which did have a vest top, but weren't too revealing.

"Don't you like?" Hermione asked with a pout, giving Draco a slow twirl which revealed that the shorts were so short that he could see the curve of her buttocks. "I bought them especially for you."

"For what? To torment me?" Draco asked in a hoarse voice, unable to tear his eyes away from Hermione's long, exposed legs.

"It was supposed to be a treat," Hermione replied as she approached the bed. "I thought they were sexy."

"They are," Draco agreed. "Very sexy."

"But?" Hermione asked with a sigh.

"But we both gave our word not to take things further while we were away," Draco answered.

"No-one would know," Hermione whispered seductively as she climbed onto the bed next to Draco.

"We would know," Draco countered, unable to stop himself from reaching out and running his hand up Hermione's bare thigh. "Besides, I was warned by the three fathers that they would be checking we'd kept our promise when we returned."

"We could hide our thoughts from them," Hermione said.

"You know as well as I do that I don't have the same control as you do," Draco replied with a sigh. "When Severus really pushes at my defences, I can't hold him back. But even if I could, I wouldn't put it past the three fathers to test our virginity or something like that."

"I guess you're right," Hermione conceded with a sigh as she flopped down on the bed beside Draco. "We did promise, and I would feel bad for breaking that promise."

"Now isn't the right time, but it'll come soon enough," Draco said.

"Do you think we'll know when the time is right?" Hermione asked, turning to lie on her side so she was facing Draco.

"I think so," Draco replied. "Although I don't suppose any-time is the right time if we've been asked to refrain from sex."

"We're not going to wait for permission, are we?" Hermione checked with a frown. "Because you know how protective everyone is of me. If father had his way, I would die a virgin."

"I promise I won't let that happen," Draco grinned, leaning over to Hermione and gently connecting their lips. "We were meant to be together, Hermione."

"Do you swear?" Hermione whispered against his lips.

"I swear," Draco promised. "Not stop being a tease, get into bed properly and go to sleep."

"Yes, Sir," Hermione laughed.

Darting under the covers, Hermione settled herself in Draco's arms, and despite being the one to trying to seduce him, she drifted off to sleep almost immediately. It took Draco a bit longer to really settle down as the sight of Hermione in her skimpy nightwear had affected him rather a lot. However, he did eventually drift off to sleep with Hermione wrapped securely in his embrace.

* * *

Despite the luxurious hotel Hermione and Draco had booked, and stunning penthouse suite they were residing in, Harry barely slept a wink all night. Part of him was worried about what sort of noises he might hear from the second bedroom, as it was clear that Draco and Hermione were sharing a room. Luckily, he heard nothing all evening, so either the rooms were really well soundproofed or the two teenagers hadn't gotten up to anything untoward in the night. Although to be honest, his concerns about overhearing something he shouldn't were only a minor reason why he didn't sleep. The main reason he couldn't sleep was because he was dreading the upcoming meeting with Voldemort.

From the second Harry had discovered what had been done to Hermione, he'd wanted to be away from the Order. However, it had never occurred to him to join forces with Voldemort, even once he was able to correspond with Hermione again and it was clear that with each passing month she was becoming more and more loyal to her father. It was only when he was planning his escape that Hermione offered him the chance to meet Voldemort, settle their differences and join them in the safety of wherever they had found themselves upon leaving Britain two summers ago.

Harry had accepted Hermione's offer, but even now he was back with his best friend, he still couldn't say for sure that he would be able to bring himself to join forces with the wizard who'd killed his parents. After all, as much as he hated the Order for what they'd done to Hermione, Voldemort himself wasn't innocent of doing nothing wrong and he'd still killed Harry's parents and tried to kill him as a baby. Even Harry's discovery that his parents had known and approved of the plan to kidnap Hermione as a baby didn't lessen the grief he felt at their deaths. Granted, it had changed his opinions of his parents and he was no longer sure if they were the good people he'd always thought they were, but they were still his parents and they'd still been killed before he'd had the chance to get to know them.

Hermione had assured him that if he chose not to align himself with them, he would be free to leave and no harm would come to him. And even though Harry didn't trust Voldemort, he did trust Hermione, and he knew that she'd promised him his safety and he could rely on her word. So even though he had no idea what the future was going to hold, he was sure that no matter what happened, he would be safe and Voldemort wouldn't try and kill him again.

With so much on his mind and unable to sleep more than a few minutes at a time, Harry was up and out of bed before the sun even rose. By the time he'd showered and dressed for the day, the sun was just starting to shine in through the window of the bedroom he was sleeping in. After making sure he had everything safely back in his backpack, Harry emerged into the adjoined living area, as he began to hear sounds in the second bedroom.

Hermione was the first to emerge from the bedroom, and after greeting Harry with a firm hug, she ordered breakfast from room service. As they waited for the food to arrive, she made sure that all her belongings were packed in her bag. Once breakfast had arrived, she then settled down next to Harry and dove into the food.

"Is Malfoy not joining us?" Harry asked as he spread a small pot of redcurrant jam onto his toast.

"He better be getting his lazy arse out of bed," she replied in a loud voice. "Seriously though, he's not a morning person," she added in her normal tone. "Most of the time he's like a zombie until after breakfast."

"I heard that," Draco muttered as he shuffled into the room, dressed but with dishevelled hair and looking half asleep.

"Sorry, I was wrong, you're as bright as a button on a morning," Hermione remarked sarcastically as her boyfriend settled down on the chair opposite and poured himself a large glass of juice.

"This is so surreal," Harry muttered, shaking his head at the sight of his best friend teasing Draco as though they'd known each other forever.

"It's about to get more surreal," Hermione remarked. "Once we've finished breakfast, we're heading to join up with the adults."

"Are we leaving the country?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we're meeting at one of the Malfoy properties in Europe," Hermione answered.

"That's not where you've been for the last two years though, is it?" Harry checked. "After you left, Dumbledore tried to find you and he was confident you hadn't stayed in Europe. Or at least if you had, you were well hidden."

"We are well hidden, but you're right, we didn't stay in Europe," Hermione said. "I would like to tell you where we do live, Harry, but I promised my father that I wouldn't."

"I understand," Harry said with a nod. "He doesn't want your safety compromised. Until we know where we all stand, it's probably not wise to tell anyone where you've been staying."

"That's very rational Potter," Draco remarked, looking more perky now he'd had something to eat and drink.

"There's no need to sound so shocked, Malfoy, I can do rational," Harry said with a slight chuckle.

"You could have fooled me," Draco snorted. "The Harry Potter I went to school with wasn't rational. In fact he was rather partial to acting rashly."

"Times have changed. I've changed," Harry replied. "And I could say something similar about you. The Draco Malfoy I went to school with wasn't considerate to anyone but his friends. Yet here you are, clearly besotted with Hermione, and acting civil towards me."

"Touché," Draco chuckled as he rose to his feet. "I'm going to finish packing, then I'll go and check us out."

While Draco made sure he'd packed and they hadn't left anything behind, Hermione explained to Harry that Draco would check them out of the hotel and make it look as though they'd left, before they used a port key to get to their next destination. Once Draco was sorted, he gathered up the keys to the suite and headed down to reception to check them out. While Draco was sorting the hotel, Hermione had pulled a jug from her bag and placed it on the coffee table.

When Draco returned, Hermione let him into the room and they returned to where Harry was waiting with the port key. All three of them made sure they had their bags on their possession as they grabbed hold of the jug and with a bright swirl of yellow light they vanished from the hotel room, leaving behind no trace that they'd ever been there.

Harry didn't have a lot of experience of travelling by port key, having only done so once before when attending the Quidditch World Cup the summer before fourth year. Which was why when they had to let go of the jug, he found himself falling through the air and landing on a plush carpet with a thump, while Hermione and Draco landed elegantly beside him upright on their feet.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione asked, dumping her bag and helping her friend to his feet.

"Yeah, just not used to port keys," Harry replied.

Once he was on his feet, Harry took in the luxury of his surroundings. They were in a large living room, decorated in shades of cream with splashes of light purple to offer some colour, and jam packed with expensive looking furniture. Behind him, Virtually a whole wall was made of glass, offering a stunning view of what looked like Paris. Or at least Harry thought the large structure he could see looked like the Eiffel Tower, not that he'd ever seen it in person to be sure.

"Amazing," he whispered, gazing out of the window.

Harry was still entranced by the view when he heard movement over the other side of the room and he turned around in time to see a beautiful, elegant witch he recognised as Narcissa Malfoy enter the room. Narcissa went straight over to her son and greeted him with a peck on the cheek, before turning to Hermione and greeting her the same way. Finally her attention turned to Harry, and he forced himself not to look away from her direct bright blue eyes. He knew that if he let himself be intimidated by Narcissa then he stood no chance of holding his own when the adult wizards arrived.

"Welcome, Mr Potter," Narcissa said coolly, giving Harry a slight nod which he hoped meant he'd impressed her by not flinching away.

"It's very nice of you to have me, Mrs Malfoy," Harry replied politely.

A ghost of a smile flickered over Narcissa's lips before Harry was distracted by yet another presence entering the room. This time it was his former Potions Professor, Severus Snape. Harry was used to seeing Severus in his billowing black robes, so he was slightly taken aback to find the former Professor wearing a dark blue shirt and a pair of dark trousers. Although he was even more taken aback when Severus greeted Hermione with a warm embrace and audibly checked she was okay. Even though it had been mentioned how fond the former Professor was of his best friend, it was still a shock to witness it first hand. And of course it was just as shocking to see Hermione smiling warmly at the former Potions Professor and reassuring him that she was fine.

Once Severus had assured himself that Hermione was okay, he welcomed Draco with a slight smile and a pat on the back. He then turned his dark eyes to Harry, looking him up and down as though he were a specimen in a jar. Harry knew Severus had never liked him, and judging from the looks he was giving him, his dislike hadn't faded over the last two years.

"Professor," Harry greeted with a small incline of his head.

"Potter," Severus returned in a low drawl.

Harry wasn't sure if the former Head of Slytherin was going to say more, but before he got a chance they were interrupted by Lucius Malfoy striding into the room. Lucius was looking just as intimidating as Harry had always remembered him, and even his warm greeting to Hermione, didn't soften the determined look in his eyes.

"I trust it the pair of you behaved yourselves," Lucius remarked, his cool grey eyes darting between his son and his son's girlfriend.

"Don't we always, Lucius?" Hermione returned sweetly.

"No, my dear, you don't," Lucius replied with a fond chuckle. "But this time, I hope you did," he added, focusing more on his son.

"We gave you our word, father, and we didn't break our promise," Draco replied.

"I hope so, because I will be checking," Lucius warned before abruptly turning around and pinning Harry with his firm stare. "Ah Mr Potter, how delightful to see you again."

Harry could sense the sarcasm in Lucius's voice, but before he could formulate a response his attention was well and truly grabbed by yet another person entering the room. For a second, Harry was confused as to who the tall, handsome stranger with short dark hair was. But then he spotted the wizard's unique red eyes and he realised the man was Voldemort, only looking ten times more human than he had done upon his return a little over two years ago.

"Hope," Voldemort called, engulfing Hermione in his arms.

"Hello, Daddy," Hermione replied, smiling up at her father. Even from across the room, Harry could see the bond the pair had made over the last two years.

"Was everything okay? You didn't run into any trouble, did you?" Voldemort checked.

"It all went perfectly," Hermione answered. "I told you it would."

"Yes, you did," Voldemort agreed with an affectionate smile. "And you brought your guest with you," he said, turning from his daughter and losing his smile as his red eyes locked with Harry. "Potter," he hissed, sounding just as scary as Harry remembered.

"Father," Hermione scolded as Harry took a wary step away from Voldemort.

"I do apologise," Voldemort said to Harry, sounding as though he was forcing every word out of his mouth. "Old habits, I'm afraid."

"I quite understand," Harry replied. He was itching to draw his wand in the presence of Voldemort, and it was only the fact he trusted Hermione that had stopped him from doing so.

"Glaring at each other isn't going to get us anywhere," Hermione tutted, shaking her head at the tension in the room. "Let's all sit down and discuss the situation like adults. We all agreed to talk, so let's talk."

One by one, everyone nodded their head and agreed with Hermione. No-one knew what the outcome of the conversation was going to be, or if it would be to everyone's liking, but one thing everyone in the room had in common was the love they had for Hermione. And for Hermione, they were all willing to sit down and talk, and see if maybe there was a chance of old rivals joining forces to bring down their common enemy.


	5. Chapter 5

The air was thick with tension as everyone gathered around the dinging table in the Malfoys Parisian penthouse. Voldemort was sitting on one side of the table, with Lucius on his right hand side and Severus on his left. Narcissa had taken the seat next to her husband, leaving the three teenagers to sit at the other side of the table. Harry had somehow ended up sitting directly opposite Voldemort, but Hermione was sitting right beside him and Draco was sitting beside her.

For a long time no-one said anything, but Harry could feel all the adults eyes on him. Refusing to show any weakness, he sat up straight and met Voldemort's glare head on. Finally an exasperated Hermione, let out an annoyed sigh and broke the silence which had settled over the room.

"Are we ever going to talk, or are we going to sit staring at each other all day?"

"I was waiting for your friend to begin," Voldemort said quietly.

"Me?" Harry spluttered in surprise. He didn't have a clue how to handle the meeting, but he'd expected that Voldemort would be the one leading the meeting and asking questions.

"Maybe it would be easier if you asked Harry some questions," Hermione suggested, trying to help her friend out. "I'm sure there's lots you want to know."

"Indeed," Voldemort agreed with a slow nod of his head. "Starting with if he's genuine."

"You think this isn't real?" Harry asked with a frown. "What do you think it is, a trap?"

"It had crossed our minds," Voldemort replied as both Severus and Lucius nodded their heads.

"Yet you allowed Hermione to meet me all alone," Harry remarked with a raised eyebrow. "And you've brought me here. If you think it's a trap, you're walking right into it."

"Don't underestimate our security, Potter," Lucius said with a low chuckle. "This penthouse is just as secure as the manor. We'd get enough warning to be out of here long before anyone in the Order can breach the wards."

"And they didn't allow me to meet you, I insisted," Hermione added.

"Plus she wasn't alone, I was with her," Draco interjected.

"Even so, if you think it's a trap, you haven't played it very smartly," Harry said with a shrug, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

"I trust my daughter, Potter," Voldemort said in a low voice. "And for some reason, she trusts you. Now you need to prove to me that you deserve that trust."

"She was right to trust me," Harry said. "This isn't a trap. I really have left the Order."

"Why?" Voldemort asked bluntly.

"Because of Hermione," Harry replied, turning his head slightly to look at his best friend. "When I got to the Order after fourth year and found out what they'd done, I was horrified."

"They actually told you the truth?" Severus questioned with a disbelieving frown.

"I don't think they had much choice," Harry admitted. "There was a bit of a rebellion going on. Certain people weren't happy with what had been happening. If they hadn't told me there and then, someone would have told me anyway. I just think that they expected me to react more like Ron."

"Which was to hate me," Hermione whispered softly.

"I could never hate you, Hermione," Harry said, taking hold of Hermione's hand and giving it a squeeze. "It didn't matter whose daughter you were, no-one deserved what the Order did to you as a baby. Nor did you deserve to have your daughter taken from you, and left to think she was dead," he added, looking over at Voldemort. "What the Order did was evil, and I couldn't accept it."

"So you just decided to leave?" Lucius questioned. "These people have been your family since you joined our world. Your godfather is even back in your life."

"A godfather who plotted to kill my best friend," Harry countered. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Hermione. She's saved my life more than once, and it repulsed me that Molly and Sirius were so blinded by their hatred that they planned to kill her for something she had no control over. So yes, the Weasleys have been like family to me, and Sirius is my godfather, but I don't want anything to do with people who would take an innocent baby from her family, then plot to kill her as a teenager."

Voldemort gave Harry a long scrutinising stare before slowly nodding his head. "I believe that you're disenchanted with the Order. I even believe that you want to be well out of their reach. But I don't quite believe you're ready to throw yourself in with us."

"You're right, I'm not sure I am," Harry replied honestly.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Voldemort snarled.

"I'm here for Hermione," Harry answered, unable to stop himself from flinching at the show of temper from Voldemort. "I love your daughter like a sister, and I've missed her these last two years. I'm sure you're aware we've been in contact in that time, and when I mentioned my escape she offered to help me on the condition I gave her my word I wouldn't fight against you."

"You're given up your standing as the Chosen One?" Voldemort scoffed.

"I didn't ask to be chosen," Harry shot back. "I didn't ask to have everyone putting pressure on me to defeat you."

"So you agreed to step aside so Hope could help you," Voldemort said.

"I did," Harry replied with a nod, thinking how odd it was to hear Hermione referred to as Hope, but it was clear that it was what Voldemort called her. "But she also promised me I would be safe from you."

"Don't worry Potter," Voldemort chuckled. "I gave my daughter my word that I wouldn't try and kill you again, and I intend to keep it."

"Thank you," Harry whispered. "But why would you agree to such a thing? You put such a lot of store in the prophecy that you tried to kill me as a child, why would you not want to follow it through now? If the prophecy is right, you can't win if I live."

"Actually the prophecy states that neither can live while the other survives," Voldemort corrected. "Call me a fool, but it looks to me like we're both surviving just fine."

"I guess we are," Harry admitted. "But surely it would still be easier for you if I were dead?"

"Do you want me to kill you, Potter?" Voldemort asked with a confused frown.

"No, I'm just trying to understand why you would spare me," Harry said.

"The answer to that is sitting beside you," Voldemort said, bestowing Hermione with a small smile. "I lost everything when I lost Hope as a baby. Then two years ago, a miracle happened and she was returned to me. The fact is, I would do anything for my daughter, even allowing the wizard everyone thinks has a good chance of killing me live."

"You're putting Hermione above yourself," Harry said in understanding.

"It's what parents do," Voldemort shrugged. "So now you know my motives, we can return to the question of what you want from us. I promised Hermione that whatever happens, you would be safe from the Order, and I will keep that promise. So the choice is yours, Potter. Do you just want help in starting a new life, or do you want to stay with us?"

"I don't know," Harry whispered, turning to Hermione. "I don't want to leave you again, Hermione."

"You don't have to," Hermione said. "You can stay with us, and even if you don't want to fight, you can still be with us. You just have to accept that I will be by my father's side when he fights, and I will witness the downfall of Dumbledore and his Order."

"Could I save anyone?" Harry asked, slowly turning back to Voldemort as he thought he had come to a decision.

"It depends, who do you want to save?" Voldemort asked warily.

"The people who were just as disgusted with the Order as I was," Harry replied. "I can give you a list of people involved in Hermione's kidnapping as a baby. I can also list the people who went along with, and even helped, with Dumbledore's plan to blacken Hermione's name two summers ago. But I can also give you a list of people who wouldn't go along with Dumbledore's plans and have left the Order. If you can promise me their safety, I'll not only join you, but I'll help you."

"Even though it will mean bringing down the people you were closest to?" Voldemort checked. "After Dumbledore, top of my hit list is Molly Weasley and Sirius Black. Can you live with their deaths on your conscience, Potter?"

"They made their choice, first when they kidnapped Hermione as a baby, but then when they planned to kill her," Harry replied. He would be lying if he said the thought of so many people he'd once cared for dying didn't affect him, but he'd accepted that they'd made their choice and would be getting what was coming to them.

"In that case, I accept," Voldemort said. "Anyone you can prove to me is no longer part of the Order and condemns what they've done to my daughter will be saved."

"How do I prove it?" Harry questioned in concern, not wanting to put anyone at risk because he couldn't prove their lack of allegiance to the Order.

"We've got at least a year before I'm ready to make my move," Voldemort said. "In that time, you will be with us and we can get to know you. Prove yourself to me, and I will trust your word."

"It's as simple as that?" Harry asked warily, convinced that there was a catch somewhere along the line.

"We do have our methods of making sure you're telling us the truth," Severus said with a smirk.

"Don't worry Harry, they won't hurt you," Hermione assured her friend. "Severus will just read your mind from time to time."

"Read my mind?" Harry squeaked. "Is that even possible?"

"It is, and it's bloody horrible," Draco muttered.

"Not if you've got nothing to hide," Severus remarked, turning to the young blond wizard. "Do you have something to hide, Draco?"

"No," Draco answered with a shake of his head.

"We'll discuss this later," Voldemort interrupted. "Right now, our focus is Potter. I think before we make our final decision to allow him to come home with us, we should take the day to make sure we're making the right choice."

"Here comes the grilling," Draco chuckled. "Good luck, Potter."

"I'll answer any questions you may have," Harry said to the three adults who all looked as though they were dying to rip into him with questions. "But can I first ask one of my own?"

"Of course you can," Hermione said quickly before any of the wizards could answer.

"Go ahead," Voldemort agreed with a resigned sigh, and Harry could see that when it came to Hermione, The Dark Lord was a bit of a pushover.

"I want to ask about my parents," Harry said bravely.

"Go on," Voldemort said, sounding wary of what was to come from the young wizard.

"Did losing Hermione play any part in what happened with them?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean?" Voldemort frowned.

"You've already said that we're both surviving perfectly fine with each other alive, yet when I was younger you tried to get rid of me. You weren't even sure I was the boy in the prophecy, were you?"

"I wasn't," Voldemort admitted. "I'd heard the prophecy and I knew the Order had pinpointed either you or the Longbottom boy as the one from the prophecy. I set out to try and find both families, and it was just luck that I found yours first."

"So your grief from losing Hermione didn't play a part?" Harry asked.

"I can't answer that, Potter," Voldemort admitted with a sigh. "I have no way of knowing what I would have done if my personal life had been in a different place. As it was, at the time your parents were killed, I'd lost everything. My daughter was dead and my wife had taken her own life. I had nothing left to lose. So yes, I might have acted rashly and jumped in without thinking. But I can't promise you that things would have been different if I hadn't lost the two most precious people in my life. I might still have went after you in the same way. Either way, I don't suppose it really matters as I still killed your parents. Are you sure you can live with that?"

"I hardly see us being bosom buddies, but I can survive," Harry conceded. "Partly because my parents knew. They were part of the plans to snatch Hermione."

"No," Severus hissed. "Lily would have fought such a wicked idea."

"That's what I thought, but Sirius and Remus both confirmed that she knew," Harry said sadly. "I'm not saying it means they deserved to die, and I will forever hate you for killing my parents," he added to Voldemort. "But I can move past what happened years ago and think about doing what's best for me right now. And that is being with Hermione."

"In that case, I think it's time we checked you're not about to break my daughter's heart," Voldemort said, sharing wicked smirks with Lucius and Severus.

"Is this really necessary?" Hermione asked with a sigh.

"Yes," Lucius answered. "We need to know Potter really can be trusted."

"Don't worry Hermione, I can handle this," Harry confidently assured his friend.

"Now this should be fun," Draco remarked with a smirk as he settled back to watch the questioning from the three fathers.

For Draco it may have been fun, but for Harry it was worse than his hearing at the Ministry as the three wizards took it in turns to grill him. Each of them questioned his motives for joining them, and each of them questioned his loyalty to Hermione. They even touched on his plans for the future, and if he could really handle what was to come if he aligned himself with The Dark Lord and his followers. If Harry had expected Lucius and Severus to go easy on him, he was mistaken and he could see that Draco hadn't been joking when he said it was like Hermione had three fathers. All three wizards were extremely protective of Hermione, and Harry knew that if he ever did somehow hurt Hermione, even accidentally, he would be in for a whole world of pain and suffering.


	6. Chapter 6

Sitting alone in the small cottage he occupied when Hogwarts wasn't open, Dumbledore reached for his glass of firewhisky. Finding it empty, he picked up the bottle he'd opened earlier in the evening to top up his glass only to find that it was also empty. Unperturbed by the fact he'd drank a whole bottle of firewhisky on his own, Dumbledore merely picked up his wand and with a flick of his wrist a fresh bottle levitated across the room from his drinks cabinet. Plucking the bottle out of mid air, Dumbledore opened it up and poured himself a generous glass of the amber liquid. With a full glass, he then settled back in his chair, staring into the fire and wondering how everything had gone so wrong.

The previous day, Dumbledore had been rocked to the core when Harry had vanished. His first thought was that foul play was involved, but then it had transpired that Harry had disappeared of his own free will. There was a part of Dumbledore mad at himself for not considering it a possibility that Harry would leave. There was no denying that two summers ago Harry had been totally disenchanted with what had happened with Hermione, but Dumbledore had honestly thought he was putting the incident behind him and learning to move on. He just couldn't believe that Harry had been able to fool them all into thinking that he was settled with the Order. Clearly there was a bit more Slytherin in him than Dumbledore had ever thought possible.

Even though Harry had disappeared of his own free will, Dumbledore and the Order had still tried to track him down. However, more than twenty four hours had now passed since his vanishing act, and there was still no trace of him. All they knew was that from The Burrow he'd travelled to the twins flat in Diagon Alley. From there what had happened to him and where he'd gone was a mystery. With no sign of him in the wizarding world, Dumbledore was leaning towards the idea that Harry had entered the muggle world. Either that or someone in the wizarding world was helping hide him.

The worrying thing for Dumbledore was the thought that Harry had joined forces with Hermione. After she and the Malfoys had disappeared two years ago, Dumbledore had tried to find them to no avail. However, he was convinced that Harry was corresponding with Hermione, but not wanting to alienate Harry further, he'd allowed the contact. Now he was beginning to think that it was another mistake he'd made.

Although rather stubbornly, Dumbledore still believed he'd only made one mistake. And that was allowing Molly Weasley to know that Hermione was The Dark Lord's daughter. Every problem that had arisen in the last two years stemmed from the moment he'd confided in the Weasleys, thinking that once they knew who Hermione was they would just keep an eye out in case there was any problems with dark magic. He hadn't for one minutes thought that Molly would react so badly that she would enter into a pact with Sirius to kill a girl she knew was innocent of any wrong doing.

Even now, Dumbledore didn't regret the decision to snatch Hermione as a child. At the time the Order had been horrified at the idea of Voldemort having a child, and they all agreed that it was too dangerous to allow him to raise a child in his dark image. Plus there was the added fear that a child of Voldemort's would be raised to think of themselves as heir to his darkness, so even if they'd defeated Voldemort, they would then have likely had to also defeat his child. Taking the child had been the best option in Dumbledore's opinion, not only did it save the wizarding world from yet another dark threat, but it had given Hermione a chance of a normal life.

Only now, thanks to Molly and Sirius, all that good work had been torn to shreds. Because Dumbledore didn't know where Hermione was, he couldn't say for certain that she was still with Voldemort, but he would bet his life savings that she was. He would also bet that by this point she'd been totally brainwashed by her father, and more than likely was more than happy to stand by him and whatever dark deeds he accomplished. Sadly, he had to now consider Hermione an enemy, which was why it could be so dangerous if Harry was indeed with his former friend.

Sadly for Dumbledore, try as he might, he couldn't find a way to get Harry back where he belonged. Although he had to also reluctantly admit that even if they did somehow manage to find Harry and get him back home, it was clear he wouldn't want to be there. So was there any point in trying to bring him back if he wasn't going to help them? If it was anyone else, Dumbledore knew he would have already given up on trying to find them. But this was Harry they were talking about. The boy who was destined to defeat The Dark Lord and save their world. Without him, Dumbledore wasn't sure what their chances were against the forces of darkness, nor was he sure how many people would continue to fight if Harry wasn't around to give them hope of victory.

No matter how hard he tried, or how much he drank, Dumbledore couldn't hide from the thought that it was already too late. He couldn't stop thinking that Harry was already lost to the Order, and if they ever did see him again, he wouldn't be fighting alongside them. The question was, would he be fighting with the dark or would he remain neutral in the war that Dumbledore was convinced would soon be upon Wizarding Britan.

* * *

While Dumbledore was sitting at home alone, drinking himself into a defeated stupor, Harry was in Paris, recovering from the grilling he'd received from Voldemort, Severus and Lucius. Even though Harry was confident that his honesty had worked and he'd convinced the three wizards he was genuine in his decision to leave the Order, it had still been decided that they would spend at least the night in France before thinking about heading to wherever the Malfoys now lived. Harry suspected the decision was to give Voldemort a bit longer to make a final call on whether or not Harry could be trusted. Even though Harry still wasn't sure about actually fighting for Voldemort, he was sure that he wanted to stay with Hermione, so he hoped that Voldemort didn't decide to throw him out on his ear.

Once the initial grilling had finished, Harry had been shown to one of the bedrooms in the penthouse, which was where he still was. He'd enjoyed a nice hot bath and a change of clothes, and he was currently sitting in a comfortable chair in front of the window, watching as the Paris skyline slowly darkened as night crept in. His mind was also on what was happening back in England, and he hoped that the twins hadn't found themselves in any trouble for helping him. Although he was aware that the twins had just about had enough of playing nice, so he half suspected that his departure could be what they needed to finally walk away from the Order. Harry was just sad that it would likely mean they would be walking away from their family, but he knew how disappointed the twins had been in their family's part in what had happened to Hermione, and more importantly how disgusted they'd been with their lack of remorse over the hurt they'd caused.

Wondering if he should write to the twins, just to let them know he was okay, Harry wandered from the bedroom in search of everyone else. The penthouse seemed pretty quiet and for a moment he worried that he'd been abandoned. However, it was only a brief moment of panic as when he found his way back to the front room, he found Hermione curled up on the large sofa, her head on Draco's lap as she was absorbed in a book.

"How are you doing, Potter?" Draco asked, spotting Harry before his girlfriend. "Recovered from the grilling the three fathers gave you, yet?"

"I think that might take longer than a couple of hours," Harry conceded with a slight wince. "They were pretty brutal."

"That Potter, was merely a friendly inquiry," Severus drawled as he swept into the room behind Harry and settled himself in the chair nearest to the fire. "We can be much more brutal."

"They really can," Draco agreed with a nod.

"And it's really not necessary," Hermione said, glaring at Severus as she sat up and patted the sofa beside her for Harry to join her. "I am sorry about earlier. But as I said earlier, everyone is just really protective of me."

"Are you surprised given what happened to you as a baby?" Severus asked. "Not to mention what could have happened to you once Molly and Sirius had set their sights on you. Your father lost you once, and then nearly lost you again without ever having known you. You can't blame him for being overprotective."

"And what's your excuse?" Hermione asked. "And Lucius's? You're both just as bad as father."

"We're merely looking out for you," Severus answered with a shrug. "Speaking of which, your father wished me to check that you and Draco kept your promise."

"We told you that we did," Draco said with a frown. "Can't you take our word on it?"

"I'd rather be sure," Severus answered, his dark eyes boring into Draco.

Harry wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but he saw Severus whisper something under his breath. He then seemed to go into a bit of a trance, while staring at Draco. A glance at Draco showed the blond wizard looked pretty uncomfortable with whatever was happening. And then all of a sudden, Severus reared back in his seat, a look of pure horror etched all over his face.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, knowing full well that Severus couldn't have found evidence that they'd broken their promise, as thanks to Draco, they'd honoured their parents wishes.

"I've just seen something I would rather not have," Severus muttered.

"Green pyjamas," Draco whispered to Hermione.

"Oh!" Hermione blushed bright red as her eyes widened in understanding. "It wasn't what it looked like, Severus. We didn't do anything."

"Yeah, Hermione was just winding me up," Draco added. "We both remembered our vow and didn't dishonour the promise we'd made."

"Give me your word," Severus demanded. "I'd rather not look again, so I'll take your word on it."

"I swear Severus," Hermione said seriously. "We didn't do anything. We're both still virgins."

At Hermione's last comment, Harry couldn't help but splutter in shock. He'd been wondering what exactly had been going on, and now everything was crystal clear. Hermione and Draco had clearly been warned not to sleep together while they were helping him leave England, and clearly the three fathers were making sure that they kept to the promises they'd made.

"Let's leave it at that then," Severus said with a relieved sigh. "Now what do you want for dinner?"

"Can we go out?" Draco asked.

"No, we're staying in," Severus answered. "Decide what you want to eat so we can get it made."

"Shouldn't we wait for everyone?" Harry asked when Hermione turned to him to ask him what he wanted for dinner.

"This is everyone," Hermione said. "Lucius and Narcissa went off to a hotel for a romantic evening, and father had a bit of business to deal with in London. So for tonight, Severus is in charge."

"For my sins," Severus muttered.

"You love us really," Hermione retorted cheekily, grinning at the former Potions Master.

"Sometimes I wonder why," Severus returned with a roll of his dark eyes.

Laughing lightly, Hermione returned her focus to food, and even though Harry didn't know what he wanted, she and Draco decided on a meal and Draco headed off to talk to the elves about dinner. Harry was surprised that Hermione condoned the use of house elves, but as he was learning, a lot had changed in the last two years and even though the strong bond between himself and Hermione was still intact, they'd both changed a lot while they'd been apart. He was guessing it would take a while before he once again knew everything there was to know about Hermione.

"Do you think it'll be okay if I wrote to the twins?" Harry asked. "I wouldn't have been able to get away if it wasn't for their help, so I just want to let them know that I'm alright."

"I can't see why not," Hermione replied. "It is okay, isn't it Severus?"

"I'd like to check the letter before you send it," Severus said.

"You still don't trust me," Harry said with a sigh. If Severus didn't trust him, then Voldemort certainly wouldn't trust him, and he might end up being sent away from Hermione.

"I'm just very cautious," Severus replied with an indifferent shrug. "I just want to be sure you don't mention anything that could cause problems for us. And of course, if you've got nothing to hide, it won't be a problem."

"I won't be telling the twins anything that can be used to hurt anyone," Harry said. "I have no problems with showing you my letter."

"In that case, write away and we can find you an owl to send your letter," Severus said with a wave of his hand.

Hermione provided him with some parchment and a quill, and after quickly writing a few lines assuring the twins that he'd gotten away and was safe and thanking them for their help, he handed the letter over to Severus to read. Once the former Professor was confident that Harry hadn't said anything that could lead to the Order finding them, he allowed the letter to be sent to the twins.

"Do you ever miss home?" Harry asked as he and Hermione watched the owl fly off into the night sky to deliver his letter to the twins.

"I missed you," Hermione replied. "And I miss other friends, like the twins and Neville. But I can't say I really miss home. You know that I was never that close to my parents, so Hogwarts was the first place that ever felt like home. But now, home is with my father, and Draco and his parents and Severus. And now you," she added, leaning her head against Harry's shoulder.

"Is it weird not going to Hogwarts any more?" Harry asked. "Do you and Malfoy go to another school?"

"Draco and I are home schooled," Hermione answered. "And it was very strange not going back to Hogwarts. But home schooling is fun, you'll soon get used to it."

"I'm going to be home-schooled as well?" Harry questioned with a frown. He'd never given his education much thought in his plan to leave the Order, especially as he was now seventeen and officially an adult in the wizarding world.

"Narcissa will insist on it," Hermione said with a laugh. "She's big on education. That's one of the reasons there's been no major move from my father. He's waiting for me to finish my education and be ready to join him on the battlefield."

"Are you ready for that?" Harry asked quietly, not sure if he could really picture Hermione fighting alongside her father.

"Just about," Hermione replied. "I'm not the same girl you remember, Harry. Finding out what was done to me as a baby, changed me. The Order's actions unleashed a need for vengeance in me. I now won't rest until they've been punished for everything they put me and my family through."

Even though he personally didn't fear Hermione, Harry couldn't help but shiver at her words and the cold tone of voice which she delivered them. He could see that she was a changed witch, and had embraced her inner darkness over the last two years. The question was, could he do the same and follow his best friend into battle, or had he placed himself in a situation he wasn't yet ready for?


	7. Chapter 7

When Voldemort had departed, not long after finishing with Harry, Hermione couldn't help but worry that her father had decided that it would be best if Harry didn't join them. All evening she wondered what would happen when her father returned, and she wondered how she would react if her father had reached a decision she didn't like. She'd meant it when she'd told Draco that whatever happened she wouldn't be leaving, but at the same time she knew it would break her heart to be parted from Harry yet again.

After a restless nights sleep, Hermione was the first to rise and she was already in the kitchen, eating a breakfast she'd fixed for herself when she heard someone enter the penthouse via the floo network. Since the floo only sounded once, she was guessing it was her father rather than Draco's parents, and her suspicions were confirmed when Voldemort strolled into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Hope," he greeted, settling himself opposite Hermione at the kitchen table.

"Morning," Hermione replied, trying to decide what sort of mood her father was in. However, despite the close bond they'd formed over the last two years, she still found him hard to predict at times.

"What's with the scrutiny?" Voldemort asked. "If you want to know something, just ask me Hope. I know you're no longer scared of me."

"I want to know what you've decided about Harry," Hermione replied.

"Did I not give my verdict yesterday?" Voldemort retorted with a slight shrug of his shoulder.

"Not really," Hermione answered. "You grilled poor Harry as though he was on trial, but you never actually said what was going to happen next. You just said we needed at least a night in France before we thought of heading home. It was clear you meant that you wanted the night to think things through."

"Which I did," Voldemort confirmed with a nod.

"So you've reached a decision?" Hermione prodded.

"I have," Voldemort replied with another nod. "He can come with us."

"Yet, you don't seem sure," Hermione remarked, clearly hearing the hesitance in Voldemort's voice.

"I am sure he can come with us, but I won't pretend that I totally trust him."

"You can't possibly think this is still a trap?" Hermione sighed in exasperation, thinking they'd moved past the whole idea of Harry playing her for a fool. "Don't forget his very first letter told us how I'd been snatched, and led to you being able to go after my nanny and make her pay for her disloyalty."

"I haven't forgotten, and I am very grateful for the information he gave us. And for the record, I don't believe this is a trap," Voldemort said. "I truly believe that Potter's flight from the Order was genuine, as is his desire to sever his connections with them."

"So what's the problem?" Hermione asked.

"I don't yet think he's ready to commit himself to us," Voldemort admitted.

"So why let him come with us then?" Hermione questioned. "If you have so many doubts about him, why not just leave him here?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Of course not," Hermione said with a venomous shake of her head. "You know how much I want Harry in my life. But I also know that as much as you love me, you wouldn't let what I want jeopardise everything you've worked towards for years."

"You're right," Voldemort said with a slight smile. He was always slightly surprised by how well Hermione knew him and how perfectly she could predict his reactions. "At this moment in time, I have my doubts about Potter. But as with you, I can see an untapped vein of darkness inside him. Given time he could well give into his darker side and be willing to join us completely."

"And if he doesn't?" Hermione asked.

"Then he still has his uses," Voldemort answered with a shrug. "Don't forget he can give us a list of everyone who was involved in what happened to you as a child. And he knows who helped Dumbledore blacken your name two years ago. With his help we can make sure not one person who treated you badly will get away with their actions. And that is what you want, isn't it? To see the people who ruined your life brought to their knees."

"It is," Hermione confirmed, her brown eyes flashing dangerously. Her hatred for the Order had only grown in the last two years and she was more than ready to get some justice for what they'd done to her.

"Plus, even without the lists, and even if Potter doesn't fight, he's still a useful person to have around," Voldemort said. "He's still considered the saviour of the wizarding world, so think what it will do to Dumbledore's attempts to defeat me if it's well known that Potter is with us. A lot of people will refrain from joining the fight if Harry is on our side and they can see that he and I are not about to kill each other. Just by being with us Potter can put a huge dent in the support Dumbledore will receive."

"So you're going to use Harry?" Hermione frowned, not sure she liked the idea of her best friend being used a pawn in the war against Dumbledore and his Order.

"What do you think Dumbledore's being doing to him for his entire life?" Voldemort snorted. "Potter made the choice to stick with us, so even if I am using him, he chose this option."

"Maybe," Hermione muttered, still not convinced by her father's reasoning.

"There's no maybe about it Hope," Voldemort retorted. "Potter chose to come to us. Even now, he could walk away. But if he chooses to stay with us, I will use his presence to my advantage. I would be stupid not to."

"Just don't do anything that will turn him against us," Hermione warned her father. "I will never forgive you if he becomes my enemy."

"If he's stood by you all this time, I don't see how I could do anything to turn him against you," Voldemort said with a shrug as he rose to his feet. "The boy clearly loves you."

"And I love him," Hermione replied. "He's like the brother I never had."

"Maybe if Dumbledore and his Order had left well alone, you would have had a brother," Voldemort remarked bitterly.

Getting to her feet, Hermione walked around the table and gently placed her hand on her father's arm. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to remind you of what you've lost and the life you might have had."

"What we've lost, and the life we could have had," Voldemort corrected in a soft voice as he cupped Hermione's face in his hand. "And you didn't remind me. The thoughts of your mother, the time I missed with you, and wondering what sort of family we might have grown into, are always with me. I can never forget what Dumbledore stole from us."

"Neither can I," Hermione said quietly as her father pulled her into his arms and they stood embracing in the middle of the kitchen for several seconds.

The sound of feet approaching the kitchen disturbed them and Voldemort removed his arms from around Hermione just as Severus entered the room. Apologising for interrupting, Severus turned to leave the kitchen, but Voldemort called him back and the pair started to discuss heading home.

"Go and tell the boys to get packing, Hope," Voldemort ordered his daughter. "We'll be leaving here at midday."

Doing what she'd been ordered, Hermione headed off to inform her best friend and boyfriend that they would be leaving that day, before she went to sort out her own packing. By midday the trio were patiently waiting in the front room, their bags all packed and ready to go. Lucius and Narcissa had also returned and the adults were also ready to leave France and head further afield.

"It's a long journey, so we'll be doing it in two stages," Lucius informed Harry. "We'll take a port key to a house in Dubai, and we'll rest there for a couple of hours. Once we're rested we'll them head off to New Zealand."

"New Zealand, is that where you've been living?" Harry asked.

"It is," Lucius confirmed with a nod. "Not that you need to know where in New Zealand. For now all you need to know is that it's our final destination."

Harry nodded in understanding as it was then explained that due to the distance of the travel, a couple of port keys would be used to ensure there was no accidents. While Draco took the port key with his parents and Severus, Harry found himself travelling with Hermione and her father.

"Don't look so worried, he won't bite," Hermione chuckled, noting the wariness on her best friend's face.

"No, I have people to do that for me," Voldemort said with a wicked smirk.

"Father," Hermione hissed, giving The Dark Lord a scolding scare. "Don't be so mean."

Voldemort merely smirked again at his daughter's reprimand, but luckily for Harry he did have time for more stirring as it was time to leave. Holding onto the port key, Harry found himself whisked off in a bright light with only Hermione and Voldemort for company. While the trip to France had been relatively quick, it seemed to Harry that they were flying through space for an eternity before Voldemort gave the order to let go of the port key. As with his arrival in France, Harry landed in a heap on the floor, while everyone else arrived on their feet.

"Hmm, you're really not a traveller, Potter," Voldemort remarked with disdain as he watched his daughter help her friend to his feet.

"He's not used to port keys," Hermione said, defending her friend.

"I guess it's something he'll need to practice with," Voldemort said. "Unless of course he's going to go back on his word and refuse to help us."

"I meant what I said, I'm willing to stand with you," Harry replied, even though there were more than a few doubts floating around in his head.

"We'll see," Voldemort muttered non-committally.

"Since we're taking a bit of time to recover before the next step of our journey, perhaps now is the time to discuss Mr Potter's schooling," Narcissa suggested as they all settled down in the plush living room they'd landed in.

"It could prove problematic," Severus warned.

"How?" Hermione questioned with a frown. "I've already mentioned it to Harry, and he knows that he'll be expected to join us in our lessons."

"And I'm quite happy to do so," Harry said, eager to do whatever he could to keep on the right side of Hermione's new family.

"It's not your enthusiasm that's the problem," Severus said. "I was more worried about your ability to keep up. Being blunt Potter, you're not as academically advanced as Hermione and Draco. I fear that you'd struggle in our lessons."

"I might not be as bright as Hermione and Malfoy, but I'm a quick learner," Harry said. "And I always try my hardest."

"Now that I never saw in all the years I was teaching you Potions," Severus scoffed.

"Maybe the was because you were too busy hating me to actually bother to see what I was capable of," Harry retorted.

"Okay, okay, let's not get carried away," Narcissa soothed, sensing Severus was ready to snap back at the young wizard.

"Perhaps before the new term starts, we can have a look at Potter's abilities and see just what he's capable of," Lucius suggested. "If he can't keep up with Draco and Hermione, then I'm sure we can devise a second lesson plan that will suit his ability."

"We can do that," Narcissa said with a thoughtful nod of her blond head. "Don't worry Mr Potter, we'll sort something out."

"Thank you," Harry replied, smiling at the blond witch. "But can I say something."

"Can we stop you?" Severus muttered.

"If I'm going to be staying with you, I would rather you called me Harry," Harry said ignoring the former Potions Professor and his mumblings.

"It would help him fit in," Hermione said.

"I'm sure we can manage it," Voldemort replied, even though Severus was looking as though he was sucking a lemon at the thought of using Harry's first name.

"Thank you," Harry said quietly, hoping that one day he would feel comfortable with the people Hermione loved.

Harry's chance to work on getting comfortable with the group came soon enough as after a couple of hours recovering in Dubai, Voldemort announced it was time to leave again and continue their journey. Again Harry was with Hermione and Voldemort as they were whisked off by yet another port key. When it came time to release the port key, Harry was prepared and focusing as hard as he could he managed to land with just a small stumble.

"Maybe you do learn quick," Voldemort remarked, witnessing Harry's improved landing.

Harry smiled slightly at the praise, but his attention was firmly grabbed by the large mansion they'd landed in front of. The stone building towered above Harry, and looking to his left he could see a small forest and to his right stood a large lake.

"We thought you might appreciate seeing the place from the outside," Hermione said to her friend.

"It's amazing," Harry whispered, looking behind him down the long twisting drive, flanked by a perfectly green lawn. "And huge."

"It suits our needs," Lucius said with a slight shrug. "Now before we go inside, you should know the ground rules."

"Ground rules?" Harry questioned, looking to Hermione for help. Given all the promises he'd had to make the previous day, he hadn't expected to have to follow rules.

"It's nothing major, Harry," Hermione assured him.

"Firstly, the wards aren't attuned to you yet," Lucius began. "You will be able to leave the premises, but the only way you can get back onto the grounds is with someone else who lives here."

"So if I run, I can't come back," Harry summarised.

"Good luck running, we're in the middle of nowhere," Severus chuckled.

"Once we're sure you can be totally trusted, you will be keyed into the wards so you may come and go as you please," Voldemort said. "Although as Severus said, we're in the middle of nowhere here."

"The second rule is about the house," Lucius continued, sounding as though no-one had interrupted his explaining of the rules. "This is your home now, and like everyone else, you can treat it as such. I'm sure Draco and Hermione will give you the full tour. On the third floor is two staircases that lead to separate parts of the house. Your room will be located up the staircase on the right hand side of the house. You are not to use the second staircase."

"What's up the second staircase?" Harry asked.

"That is where Narcissa and I have our rooms," Lucius replied. "It's also where Severus and The Dark Lord reside. We won't stop you from using the other rooms in the house, but that staircase leads to our private section of the house and we expect our privacy to be respected."

"I understand," Harry said with a nod. "I won't bother anyone, I promise."

"In that case, you may go and get yourself settled in," Voldemort said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he shooed the three teenagers into the house.

"Have we made the right choice?" Lucius asked the adults entered the house in time to witness the three teenagers were already halfway p the main staircase. "Is he going to be any good to us, or is he a liability?"

"Only time will tell," Voldemort replied, his red eyes watching the boy he'd once classed as his enemy climbing the stairs beside his daughter.

He still wasn't a hundred percent sure on Harry, but he could see the potential darkness within him, and he wasn't going to rest until he'd seen if he could bring that darkness out of him. After all, he'd persuaded Hermione to embrace her darkness and she was making him prouder with each passing day as she mastered the Dark Arts. So what was to stop him from helping Harry get in touch with his inner devil, and turn The Boy Who Lived into the ultimate weapon against Dumbledore.


	8. Chapter 8

Even thought he hadn't minded the brief jaunt back to England, Draco was more than happy to be back home in New Zealand. Over the last two years he'd come to think of the large mansion as home, and even though he hoped that one day he would once again be back living at the manor, for the time being he was content where he was. He was only hoping that Harry's presence wouldn't ruin everything and destroy the family unit that had been forged after events of two years ago.

So far they'd only been back a couple of days, and while Harry had been allowed to acclimatise himself to his new life, it had been decided that it was time to find out where he stood in regards to his schooling. Currently Harry was in the room they used as a classroom, with Severus and Narcissa, undergoing tests to see if he would be able to cope with the work Draco and Hermione did. Hermione had wanted to be with Harry, but Voldemort had ruled that he needed to be tested on his own, so Draco was currently sitting in one of the back rooms, watching his girlfriend pacing the floor as she waited for news of her best friend.

"Maybe we should go flying," Draco suggested, eager to get Hermione's mind away from Harry.

"It's miserable outside," Hermione remarked with a shrug, not even bothering to look outside to where it was grey and misty. While it was summer in England and the weather had been lovely, it was winter in New Zealand and it was cold and bitter outside.

"A good flyer needs to learn how to fly in all weathers," Draco countered. Over the last two years he'd been teaching Hermione how to fly, and while she would never be a natural on a broomstick and perform the daring tricks that exhilarated Draco, she wasn't too bad and he'd even gotten her to admit that she enjoyed flying.

"Why would I need to fly in the middle of winter?" Hermione questioned with a frown. "I don't mind going for a fly with you when it's nice outside, but not when it's like this."

"You never know when an emergency will pop up," Draco replied.

"This isn't an emergency though," Hermione pointed out. "You just want me to pay you some attention."

"I was just thinking you might like to do something rather than pacing the floor like a caged animal," Draco said, pouting slightly at the accusation his girlfriend had thrown his way. "Forgive me for caring," he muttered under his breath.

"So you're not just trying to take my mind off Harry?" Hermione asked with a teasing smile as she walked over to where Draco was sitting.

"It would be nice if you remembered there was other people around, not just Saint Potter," Draco grouched as Hermione settled herself on his lap.

"You're jealous," she laughed.

"Am not," Draco retorted with a scowl.

"You are, you're jealous," Hermione reiterated, snuggling closer to her boyfriend. "That is so cute."

"I am not cute," Draco growled, still scowling at his girlfriend.

"You really are," Hermione replied, giving him a peck on the cheek. "But you have no need to be jealous. I've got room for both you and Harry in my life."

"Have you?" Draco shot back. "Because it really doesn't seem like it lately. For weeks all you've been talking about is Potter. We even travelled halfway around the world to help him escape from the Order. And now he's here, and you've spent virtually every spare second in his company."

"I'm trying to help him adjust," Hermione replied. "He's given up everything for me, Draco. He's walked out on everyone who loves him, just because of me."

"No, he walked away from the Order because he saw them for what they were," Draco corrected. "He could see just what they were capable of, and he couldn't condone their actions."

"But it's still because of me," Hermione countered. "I'm sure he would have been disgusted if the Order had done the same thing to anyone, but it was harder for him to accept because it happened to me. He chose me over the Order, and I just want to make sure he knows it was the right choice. I want him to feel at home here, Draco. I want this to be where he wants to be."

"I get that," Draco admitted with a sigh. "I just don't want you to lose sight of the fact that there's other people here who love you aside from Potter."

"I will never forget that," Hermione replied quietly. "And I'm sorry if I've been neglecting you, Draco. But you have no reason to be jealous of Harry. I love him, but as a brother. Nothing can compare to how I feel about you."

"And just how do you feel about me?" Draco asked with a sly smile as he wrapped his arm around Hermione to pull her even closer towards him.

"Now you're just fishing for compliments," Hermione chuckled, her lips barely an inch away from Draco's. "You know how I feel about you."

"Sometimes it's nice to hear it once in a while," Draco replied.

"You're everything to me, Draco," Hermione said seriously. "I love you."

"I love you too," Draco whispered, leaning up just enough so that his lips touched Hermione's.

Hermione instantly increased the intensity of the kiss, and thanks to her position on Draco's lap, they were soon wrapped in each other's arms, unable to tear themselves away from each other. For a blissful couple of minutes Harry was forgotten and the couple lost themselves in the moment. That was until Harry himself entered the room and let out an embarrassed squeak when he found the pair heatedly snogging on the chair.

"I'll just leave you to it. Sorry," he apologised, hastily backing away.

"Harry, come back," Hermione ordered, turning to face her friend although she didn't move from Draco's lap.

"I can give you some privacy if you want," Harry said, stopping mid-departure, but not moving back towards the couple.

"You're here now Potter, so you might as well stay," Draco replied with a sigh.

"Harry," Hermione corrected her boyfriend. "We talked about this, and people are to call Harry by his first name, not his surname. It's what friends do, Draco."

"It's habit," Draco said with a grimace, not sure if he was ready to call Harry by his first name. Maybe once he was sure he could be trusted then it would happen easier.

"It's a hard thing to break, Hermione," Harry said as he slowly advanced into the room and took the spare chair opposite the one Draco and Hermione were still sharing. "It's not like I'm comfortable calling Malfoy anything other than Malfoy."

"Boys," Hermione huffed with a roll of her eyes. "Just promise me that you'll both try." After eliciting promises from them both that they would try and use each other's first names she then turned back to Harry. "So how did the morning go?"

"I have no idea," Harry said with a dramatic moan. "I tried my best, but Snape had his beady eyes on me the entire time and I felt as though nothing I was doing was good enough. He still hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Hermione said.

To be honest she didn't have any real idea how Severus felt about Harry. She'd always known that he'd never really liked Harry, but she'd never known why, and to be honest even though they'd grown close in the last two years it had never occurred to her to ask about his feelings towards her best friend. Although maybe now Harry was living with them, she could catch Severus and find out what the issue was.

"It feels like he hates me," Harry muttered.

"So did they not give you any idea of what they thought of your abilities?" Draco asked.

"Your mother was complimentary, and she said she could see the potential, but I'm not sure if she was just being nice."

"When it comes to eduction, Mother doesn't do nice," Draco informed Harry with a chuckle. "If she thinks you're not doing as well as she thinks you can do, she tells you. The woman is a slave driver with ridiculously high expectations."

"She just wants us to be the best we can be," Hermione said, sticking up for her boyfriend's mother. "So what happens now?" she asked Harry.

"This afternoon I have to do some more tests," Harry admitted. "This time they want to check out my practical magical ability."

"Yeah, we don't just do theory in this house," Draco said. "We're expected to be able to put it into practise. More than likely you'll have to spend the afternoon showing what you're made of."

"In front of everyone," Harry added. "Your mother mentioned both of your fathers would be there. I feel like I'm going on display."

"You are in a way," Hermione said. "Everyone will want to see just what you're made of, Harry. But don't worry, I have every faith that you'll blow them away with your abilities."

"I hope so," Harry muttered. Surprisingly he found that he didn't want to disappoint anyone. He wanted to prove that he was worth taking a chance on, and he was worth the time and effort that was clearly going to be taken on furthering his education.

Hermione continued to reassure Harry, and by lunchtime he was feeling slightly more confident. However, his confidence began to falter slightly once lunch was over and everyone headed to one of the rooms down in the dungeons of the mansion. Even Draco and Hermione joined the group, and Harry was a bundle of nerves when they entered a large room which was completely empty aside from a couple of blue crash mats in the centre of the room.

"What are the mats for?" Harry asked nervously.

"To cushion you when you fall," Draco answered, unable to stop himself from smirking at Harry's obvious worry about what was to come over the course of the afternoon.

"Fall?" Harry repeated in a small voice.

"We are preparing for war," Voldemort said in a low voice. "We are making sure that Hope and Draco are properly prepared for when they fight. We're providing you with the same opportunity. Unless you would rather not train with the others?"

"I want to train," Harry replied.

"Good, in that case let's see what you've got," Voldemort said, a smirk floating around his own lips as he gestured for Harry to move into the centre of the room. "Lucius, would you like to do the honours?"

"It would be my pleasure," Lucius answered, confidently striding into the centre of the room.

"Are we expected to fight?" Harry asked warily.

"I just want to see what you're made of," Voldemort answered. "Don't worry, Lucius won't use any curse that will seriously harm you. However, he won't be going easy on you. As Hope can tell you, we don't go easy on anyone."

"It's true," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "When we duel, we're expected to do so against an opponent who's trying to win. We're never badly hurt, but we do end up with a few bumps and bruises."

"And that's a good thing?" Harry squeaked in panic.

"It is," Hermione replied with another nod of her head. "Believe me Harry, the best way to prepare yourself for what lies ahead is to do battle for real. There's no good taking it easy on us, because in a real battle no-one will be taking it easy. This is the best possible preparation you could wish for."

"It's certainly better than what you would get with the Order," Severus remarked.

"Okay, let's do it then," Harry declared with determination. "What do we do?"

"Fight," Voldemort answered with a smirk. "I'll end the duel when I'm satisfied, and I'll give you my opinion then. And don't hold back."

"Me?" Harry questioned, not sure if Voldemort had been talking to him or Lucius.

"Yes you, I want to see exactly what you've got," Voldemort answered.

Vowing to do all he could, Harry took a deep breath and turned to face Lucius as everyone else stood against the wall to watch the action. Beside him, Draco could feel how nervous Hermione was as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Wondering if she was nervous because she was worried that his father would pulverise her best friend, Draco settled back to watch the action.

Once they were ready the spells began to fly around the room in earnest. Although initially most of them came from Lucius's wand. For the first few minutes, Harry would throw a spell at Lucius, then wait for another spell to be fired at him before he fired back. It wasn't until he realised that Lucius wasn't allowing him the same courtesy, and was firing spells at him in rapid succession that he began to throw curse after curse the blond wizard's way.

Sadly for Harry, he was no match for such a superior wizard and although his youth and amazing reflexes allowed him to dodge the worst of Lucius's curses, he didn't have the ability to cause any real problems for Lucius. Most of the times Lucius batted off his curses and hexes as though they were a minor irritation, and even the ones that did mange to get through his defences did little more than slightly wrong foot him. In return, he was blasting curse after curse at Harry and more than once the young teenager ended up crashing into the blue mats that thankfully gave him a soft landing.

Even so, Harry's determination was on on full show and every time he got knocked down, he got back up again and continued the fight. Watching from the sidelines, Draco was pretty impressed with Harry. Even though his father looked totally untroubled by whatever Harry threw his way, Harry wasn't giving up and he continued to bombard the older wizard with everything he had. However, Harry was clearly starting to slow down and Draco was fully expecting one of the blows his father landed to keep Harry on his back for far longer than the couple of minutes he'd been going down for.

However, Harry still wasn't ready to give up and after dodging a barrage of curses from Lucius, he was still as determined as ever. With his wand still firmly in his grasp, he waved it in Lucius's direction with a cry of 'Expelliarmus'. However, he'd only managed to cry half of the spell before Lucius realised what he was doing and cast a quick shield charm of his own. The result meant that the spell rebounded on Harry, and it was his wand that went flying through the air, and into the hands of Voldemort who stepped forward to end the fight.

"Not bad," Voldemort begrudgingly admitted as he handed Harry his wand back. "Your spells lack bite and at the moment you lack a killer touch, but you've got tenacity. I've never seen anyone get back up and carry on as often as you did. It's just a shame your final choice of spell let you down."

"What was wrong with my choice of spell?" Harry questioned with a pant as he tried to regain his breath after the fight. "Without the shield charm, I would have disarmed my opponent."

"I'd been waiting for you to try and disarm me since we began," Lucius informed Harry with a chuckle. "The second you started to say the spell, I was prepared."

"Just because you were prepared doesn't mean everyone will be," Harry argued. "I'll take plenty of people by surprise with that spell."

"No, you won't," Voldemort said dismissively. "It's a basic spell and anyone going into a battle will be prepared for such juvenile tactics. The chances of you disarming an opponent in battle are slim to none. And if you do manage it, you must have been duelling a fool."

"That spell has worked well for me in the past," Harry said quietly. "It saved my life two years ago when we faced each other the night you returned."

"Indeed," Voldemort agreed in a low voice, noting the fire burning in Harry's eyes when he mentioned their previous battle.

He'd actually meant to investigate why his wand had reacted to Harry's the way it had on the night of his return, but events with Hermione had sent the incident flying from his mind, until Harry had now brought it back up. It was something he was going to have to look into sooner rather than later, especially as he still wasn't sure if Harry could be trusted. Just looking at him at the moment, Voldemort was sure that the young wizard hated him. Which maybe wasn't ideal if he was going to teach him how to fight properly, but on the other hand, it he could win Harry over, then it wouldn't matter how well he could fight because they would be on the same side.

"You have potential," Voldemort continued. "And with work, you'll be a skilled fighter. We just need to teach you some spells that will actually damage your opponent."

"Dark spells?" Harry asked.

"What's dark to one person is normal to another," Voldemort answered with a shrug. "As I told Hope two years ago, light and dark depends on your perspective. After all Dumbledore labels himself as fighting for the light, yet he and his followers kidnapped an innocent baby. Shades of grey, Harry, life is nothing but various shades of grey."

With Voldemort's words of wisdom the test drew to a close and Harry was allowed to go off and spend the rest of the afternoon with Hermione and Draco. However, Voldemort's words rattled around his head all day and he went to bed that night contemplating his viewpoint of dark and light. Maybe Voldemort was right and all there was were shades of grey. All Harry had to decide was what shade of grey he was comfortable living with.


	9. Chapter 9

Hearing a grandfather clock somewhere in the mansion striking two o'clock in the morning, Harry's head shot up from the book he was absorbed in reading. He'd only intended to read for a short time before bed, yet he'd ended up so caught up in his book that it was the middle of the night. Chances were he was now the only person awake in the large house.

"I'll just get to the end of the chapter," he muttered to himself as he returned his attention to the spell book he'd been studying.

The book had been a gift left for him in his bedroom, and it was one of several he'd received over the last couple of weeks. The books had started to appear in his bedroom the same day he'd duelled Lucius to showcase his abilities. Harry knew that most people would consider the books he'd been reading as Dark Arts books, but Harry was beginning to see Voldemort's point about shades of grey. Yes, some of the spells he was reading about were darker than anything he'd ever learnt at Hogwarts, but some of them seemed no more harmful than the curses he already knew. He was quickly deciding that it wasn't necessarily the spells which were dark, but the way in which they could be used. After all, even a simple stinging hex could cause a lot of damage if the intensity of the spell was strong enough.

The more he settled into life in New Zealand, the more Harry was coming to believe that he'd made the right decision. Not only was he reunited with Hermione, but he had a very real chance to pay Dumbledore and the Order back for everything they'd put his best friend through. For two years he'd been disgusted with the Order and his hatred of them had been slowly bubbling inside of him, but being reunited with Hermione, and being reminded of everything she'd gone through, had only increased the hatred he felt towards the people he'd left behind. Slowly his outlook on life was darkening, and while he knew he would never be as open to the darkness as Voldemort, he definitely had a capacity for it.

As he reached the end of his chapter, Harry slipped his bookmark inside and reluctantly put it to one side. However, as he flicked off his light and settled down for the night, he found he was still wide awake. Rather than get out of bed, he remained snuggled under the covers and his mind turned to the people he was living with, and how living with them for a couple of weeks had changed his opinions on almost all of them.

Naturally Hermione was the first person to enter his head, and while on a whole his friend was the same person she'd always been, Harry had noted the changes in his best friend. She was still the bright, loving, caring witch he'd met at eleven years old, but there was now a harsher side to her personality. Whenever she spoke of the Order, especially Dumbledore, Sirius and Molly, there was a vengeful fire in her eyes that Harry had never seen before. Her heart had clearly been broken by the betrayals she'd suffered two years ago, and she often said it would never be whole again until she'd gotten her vengeance. Not that Harry could really blame her as it was clear that even after two years she was still recovering from learning that her entire life had been a lie. For Hermione, punishing those who'd hurt her, was one of the most important things in her life.

Another important thing in her life was something Harry hadn't been expecting – and that was her romance with Draco. Even though Harry had known all along that Hermione had been with the Malfoys, it had never crossed his mind that she would enter into a relationship with the blond wizard. Although to be fair until the last couple of weeks he'd been thinking of Draco as the boy he'd known at Hogwarts. It was only now that he realised that he'd never known the real Draco Malfoy. The boy he thought he'd known at school had only been the parts of Draco that he'd allowed people to see. As Harry was discovering, once Draco decided to let people in, he was quite a different person. He could actually be quite funny and pleasurable to be around. Then the fact he clearly doted on Hermione had helped him in Harry's estimation, as even though the blond wizard devoured books on the so called Dark Arts and was clearly itching to get involved with some real fighting, he obviously loved Hermione and would do anything for her.

To be fair loving Hermione was the thing everyone in the house had in common, and as unexpected as it had been for Harry to discovered that his best friend and Draco were a couple, it wasn't quite as surprising as it had been to find out just how much the other adults loved her. Given that Voldemort was her father, he'd expected the dark wizard to love his daughter. He just hadn't expected the other three adults to love her as well.

By now he was less surprised by the fact Narcissa loved Hermione. Of all the adults in the house, it had been Narcissa that had been the most welcoming towards Harry. It was obvious she was a devoted mother to Draco, and had taken Hermione into her heart, but she'd also opened her arms for Harry as well. She'd done everything she possibly could have to help Harry settle into his new life, and Harry knew that if he had a problem he could go to Narcissa and she would help him in a heartbeat. She really was a lovely woman and her maternal instinct was strong enough to encompass all three teenagers that were living in the mansion, even though only one of them was her own flesh and blood.

Narcissa's husband was a different matter though. Harry had now been living with the family for nearly three weeks, and he still had no idea if Lucius even liked him. He knew Lucius still had a business to run, and like Voldemort he wasn't always around every day, but when he was around he tended to watch Harry carefully. Not that he was ever rude towards Harry, but he wasn't welcoming either. Not like he was with Hermione where it was clear that he thought of her as a surrogate daughter. Harry did suspect that Lucius was just being cautious and was making sure that Harry wouldn't betray them, and considering that attitude was keeping Hermione safe, Harry could live with Lucius's indifference.

One person who wasn't indifferent towards him was Severus. The former Potions Professor clearly still detested Harry and wasn't afraid of showing it. Harry's dislike of Severus was almost just as strong, but he kept reminding himself that if it hadn't been for Severus, Hermione might well be dead. He was the one who saved her from the Order and got her to safety two years ago. Besides, even though he clearly disliked Harry, he just as clearly adored Hermione. If he hadn't known any better, he would have actually thought that Severus was Hermione's father. He was just as protective as Voldemort, and Hermione clearly cared for him just as much as she did for her father. It was for Hermione's sake that Harry didn't react when Severus threw barbs his way, and because of the affection his best friend had for Severus, Harry was determined to win over the frosty Professor and convince him that he also just wanted what was best for Hermione.

As much as Harry's opinions on everyone had changed, it was surprisingly Voldemort that he'd had the biggest change of heart about. From the moment he'd entered the wizarding world and heard about Voldemort, he'd painted him as some sort of monster in his head. And their encounter at the end of fourth year did nothing but reinforce that opinion. He was convinced that Voldemort was the very epitome of evil and was nothing but a monster, and while he hadn't been happy with the Order's actions in taking his baby, he had to admit he might not have felt as much sympathy as he did if that child hadn't been Hermione. However, since joining Hermione and her new found family a few weeks earlier, Harry had been revising his opinion of Voldemort.

He would never entirely trust Hermione's father, or even forgive him for what had happened to his parents, but he was coming to see that he was more than the monster he'd been portrayed as in Harry's mind. Firstly, Harry had witnessed how charming and persuasive the older wizard could be. When he turned on the charm, Harry couldn't help but be in awe of him and he could easily see why he'd amassed so many loyal followers. When Voldemort turned his attention on you, he could make you feel like you were the only person in the world who mattered. That wasn't to say he couldn't still send a chill down Harry's spine when he glared at him a certain way, and Harry was convinced that he was still a terrifying opponent.

But in truth, it was Voldemort' relationship with Hermione that had really altered Harry's opinions on The Dark Lord. Just watching the pair together it was clear that they'd formed a strong bond over the last two years. While Hermione loved her father, something which she'd admitted to Harry the first day they'd been reunited, Voldemort just as clearly loved his daughter. Harry had even witnessed the pair of them together when they thought they were alone, and he couldn't help but be touched by the devotion Voldemort had for his long lost daughter. Harry was in no doubt that there was nothing Voldemort wouldn't do for Hermione, and that was evidenced in the fact he'd yet to retaliate against the Order for taking Hermione in the first place.

It had always baffled Harry why Voldemort had never attacked after finding out that not only had the Order taken his daughter, but then a couple of them had planned to kill her. But now he was in the heart of The Dark Lord's inner circle, he could see the reason he hadn't yet attacked was Hermione's calming influence on her father. More than once there had been comments made about not rushing into danger without a solid plan. As Hermione was fond of saying, the people who'd hurt them weren't going anywhere. They could strike when they were ready, and there was nothing the Order could do to predict when they would be attacked.

Seeing Voldemort with such a calm, reasonable attitude only boosted Harry's suspicions that he'd acted so rashly with his parents because he'd been grieving for his daughter and wife. That wasn't to say he understood what Voldemort had done to his parents, or that he would even forgive him for leaving him an orphan at one years old, but Harry was convinced that if it hadn't been for what Dumbledore and the rest of the Order had done to Hermione then Voldemort never would have attacked the same way. With each passing day he was becoming more and more convinced that if Hermione hadn't been stolen as a baby, then his parents might still be alive. And of course the person to blame for Hermione's kidnapping was Dumbledore, and increasingly Harry was placing the blame for his parents deaths on the headmasters shoulders.

With thoughts of making Dumbledore suffer for all the pain he'd caused, not just to Hermione but to Harry himself, he finally drifted off to sleep. With dreams of vengeance on his mind, he had no idea that in another part of the mansion, Voldemort had been using the connection forged by the scar on Harry's head to tune into his thoughts. Satisfied that Harry was finally starting to embrace his inner darkness, Voldemort picked out a fresh book to leave for the young wizard the following day before he settled into his own bed and drifted off into a contented sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Narcissa was normally the first person at breakfast, but the final Sunday in August she was running late as she entered the breakfast room, humming merrily to herself. The elves had already prepared breakfast and Hermione, Draco, Harry and Severus were all sitting eating their breakfast. There was no sign of The Dark Lord as he was busy back in England, and Narcissa had just shared a fond farewell with her husband as he'd also travelled back to England for a few days.

"Someone's happy," Severus remarked as Narcissa greeted everyone brightly and settled down in her usual chair.

"And late," Draco added. "Sleep in, did you?" he chuckled.

"I was in bed, but I was not sleeping," Narcissa replied.

"Mother," Draco hissed as Hermione, Harry and Severus all chuckled at Narcissa's reply. "That really is too much information."

"You asked for it implying that I was being lazy," Narcissa retorted.

"And have you worn Lucius out so much that he can't get out of bed?" Severus asked with a smirk.

"He's gone back to England for a few days," Narcissa answered. "We were just saying goodbye."

"Why has Father gone home?" Draco asked, refusing to let his mind dwell on just how his parents had been saying goodbye to each other.

"You know he likes to keep a close eye on the business," Narcissa replied. "He does as much as he can from here, but sometimes he just has to go and deal with certain matters in person."

"Will he be meeting up with The Dark Lord while he's away?" Severus asked.

"I assume so," Narcissa answered with a slight shrug. "All I really know for sure is that he promised to be back before the children started their lessons."

"Ah yes, it's back to school next week," Severus said.

"Speaking of which, I have the timetables finished," Narcissa said. Flicking her wand, two squares of parchment came floating into the room and landed in her outstretched hand. "Harry, this is your timetable," she said, handing Harry one of the squares before passing the other one over to Hermione. "That's for you and Draco," she told the young witch.

"Why is Harry's different?" Hermione asked, comparing her and Draco's timetable to the one her best friend had been handed.

"He's never done any Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, so we thought the times you and Draco were doing those subjects he could be catching up to you in the others," Severus explained.

"And what happens when he's all caught up?" Draco asked.

"He can either use the time to get ahead with his homework, or practice his practical magic," Narcissa replied. "Don't worry Draco, we know what we're doing."

"You're telling me," Harry muttered, still staring at the timetable which was just as organised as anything he'd ever received at Hogwarts. Each day started at nine o'clock, with the lessons spread between the morning and afternoon with lunch fixed for an hour at midday. "But why are there no lessons listed on Friday?"

"Friday is the day we're going to focus on your practical magic," Severus answered. "The Dark Lord has quite a bit planned for this year. He's going to stretch all three of you to your limits and see if you're tough enough to handle a real battle."

"We're tough enough," Hermione said confidently, eager to find out what her father had in store for them on Fridays.

"We'll see," Severus remarked unconvincingly, his dark eyes landing on Harry.

Well aware that the former Potions Master was implying that he was the weak link, Harry glared back at the older wizard, determined not to be intimidated by him. Everyone else in the room could sense the tension, but as always Narcissa played the peacemaker and rapidly changed the subject by asking what people's plans were for the day.

"I'm going for a hike this morning, then I've got lessons to prepare for next week," Severus replied. "Maybe it's time the children started to think about their studies. It's going to be a tough year."

"We can think about our school work when lessons start next week," Draco replied. "It's starting to warm up, so I thought we could go for a fly."

"I could get the elves to arrange a picnic for you," Narcissa offered. "It'll do you all good to get some fresh air."

"The picnic sounds great, but I don't really fancy flying," Hermione said. "Perhaps I can join you on your hike, Severus."

"If you wish," Severus replied, wondering what ulterior motive Hermione had for choosing to spend the morning with her rather than her boyfriend and best friend.

"And what about us?" Draco asked his girlfriend with a pout.

"I'll see you both at lunchtime," Hermione replied. "Besides, you and Harry can have a much better fly without me. I'm not as good as either of you."

"You're better than you ever used to be," Harry remarked. He'd been rather surprised to learn that Hermione had taken up flying, and despite claiming not to be very good, she could handle a broomstick really well and had the potential to be a really good flyer.

"Even so, I'd only slow the pair of you down," Hermione said. "I'd rather keep my feet on the ground this morning. You two go off and have fun. It'll be a nice bonding activity for the pair of you."

Both Draco and Harry rolled their eyes at the idea of bonding, but neither of them argued. Truth be told a morning flying sounded like heaven, and they were competitive enough to keep pushing each other to the limit and pushing one another to increase their skills on a broomstick.

Over the rest of breakfast, Hermione arranged where to meet Draco and Harry for a picnic lunch, and Narcissa promised to have the elves make it and deliver it. The group then split up for the morning, with Narcissa remaining in the house, Draco and Harry grabbing a pair of broomsticks and heading off for a fly, and Hermione and Severus getting wrapped up before heading off for a walk.

Hermione and Severus walked in silence for a while as they headed towards the lake. Hermione suspected that Severus planned to walk around the entire lake, which usually took a couple of hours. However less than ten minutes into the walk he stopped at one of the benches scattered around the lake and sat himself down.

"This doesn't look much like a hike to me," Hermione remarked as she sat down next to him.

"We can continue when you tell me why you're really here," Severus replied. "And there's no need to make excuses about not wanting to slow the boys down in their flying. You're here for a reason, and I want to know what it is."

"Am I really so obvious?" Hermione asked with a frown. Of course Severus was right and she did have an ulterior motive in joining him on his walk, but she'd hoped that she hadn't been obvious in her desire to get him alone.

"To me," Severus replied. "So tell me Hermione, what do you want?"

"I want to talk about Harry," Hermione said. "I know you've never liked him, and quite honestly I think the feeling is pretty mutual. But he's a part of our family now, and I would like it if the pair of you could learn to get along. It just seems like every time you can, you're throwing snide digs in his direction."

"And what, you want me to play nice with him?" Severus sneered.

"I don't expect you to become best friend with him. I just wanted to try and stop the negativity between the pair of you," Hermione replied. "Please Severus, can't you make an effort for me? I don't want to be torn between the pair of you. I don't want to have to pick between two of the most important people in my life."

"I'll try harder," Severus said with a sigh. "But I'm not promising miracles."

"I don't want miracles. Just your promise to try harder is enough," Hermione replied with a smile. "So should we continue our walk now?"

"I thought you would have been heading off to join the boys now you've said your piece," Severus remarked as he rose to his feet.

"I'd rather have a nice walk with you," Hermione replied, slipping her arm through Severus's as they once again set off around the trail that circled the lake.

For a while the pair walked in contented silence, until Hermione plucked up the courage to ask Severus just why he hated Harry. It had been obvious since the day they'd started Hogwarts that Severus had detested Harry on sight, but what had never been as obvious was the reason for his hatred. Hermione didn't even think it was because Harry was a Gryffindor, because Severus had never treated any of the other Gryffindors with the same dislike he'd treated Harry with.

"The truth is, I don't think I truly hate him," Severus admitted. "I just hated the sight of him."

"But there has to have been a reason," Hermione argued. "You don't just look at an eleven year old boy and decide you hate him, and that seemed to be what you did with Harry."

"The first time I saw Harry, it was like looking at a ghost from my past," Severus replied as once again the pair halted and settled down on one of the benches around the lake. "Not a very pleasant ghost, I might add."

"A ghost?" Hermione frowned in bewilderment until she recalled several incidents in third year. "James Potter," she concluded. "Everyone says Harry looks just like his father, and from what was said in third year, you went to school with James, Sirius and Remus."

"Unfortunately, I did," Severus confirmed with a nod. "And I'm sure as you noticed, I didn't get along with them."

"I had noticed," Hermione said with a nod. It had been quite hard to miss the animosity between Severus and Sirius during her brief stay at Order Headquarters two years ago.

"The bad blood between Black and I, is nothing compared to the hatred there was between Potter and myself," Severus replied. "From the moment Harry's father laid eyes on me, he set out to make my life at Hogwarts a misery."

"Why?"

"I wish I knew," Severus snorted. "By rights, I should have been nothing to Potter and his gang. I was a Slytherin, and a loner Slytherin at that. My life wasn't exactly full of cheer even before Potter set his sights on me."

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"In short, Potter and his gang made my life at Hogwarts a living hell," Severus replied, his tone bitter even after so many years had passed. "It started as name calling, and in later years it escalated to physical attacks. Once I was almost killed by the Whomping Willow, and only a last minute attack of conscience on Potter's part saved my life. But there were always plenty of curses thrown my way, books knocked out of my hands and trampled on and just general attempts to humiliate me."

"That's disgusting," Hermione hissed, outraged on the behalf of Severus. "I hope they were punished."

"Who was going to punish the golden foursome because they were mean to me?" Severus scoffed with an unamused laugh. "Most people just thought of them as high-spirited. Sure they got into trouble, but never for bullying me. They were always very careful not to target me in front of the Professors."

"What about the other students, didn't they see anything?" Hermione asked. "They could have backed you up."

"I was a loner with virtually no friends. There was nothing to be gained for standing up for me," Severus replied.

"What about doing the right thing?" Hermione asked. "Someone should have stood up for you just to do the right thing."

"And risk being targeted themselves?" Severus questioned as he shook his head. "No-one wanted to face the same humiliation as I did, so people kept quiet."

"I think it's disgusting," Hermione hissed. "If Harry's father was still alive, I'd teach him a thing or two about bullying people weaker than him. Do you think Harry knows what his father was like?" she asked in concern, suddenly wondering if she needed to have a talk with her best friend.

"I doubt it," Severus replied with a shrug. "He'll have heard stories from Black and Lupin about how great his father was. He won't want to hear that he was nothing but a bully."

"Are you saying that I shouldn't tell him?" Hermione asked.

"It won't achieve anything," Severus replied. "James is gone, he can't hurt me or anyone else again. Let Potter keep the image he has of his father. Let him think that he was a good man."

"Okay," Hermione agreed with a nod, even though she wasn't sure if it was right to keep Harry from the truth. "Although I guess I can see now why you struggle so much with Harry. But he's not like his father, Severus. He's not mean and vindictive."

"I know," Severus replied with a small smile. "Truth be told, I've always known. Because he looks so much like James, I let him get under my skin. I used to tell myself he was just like his father, but really I could see that he wasn't. The fact he's stood up for you is just proof that he's nothing like his father. James knew of your kidnapping, and I believe that if he was still alive he would have taken the same viewpoint on you as Sirius."

"He would have wanted me out of the picture," Hermione whispered.

"I think so," Severus said with a nod. "Thankfully his son is made of better stuff. And I know Harry is not James, and I promise to try and remember that. I promise to make more of an effort with him."

"Thank you, Severus," Hermione said, pecking the older wizard on the cheek. "And thank you for telling me all of that, it can't have been easy to share such memories."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone else," Severus said. "Your father, Lucius and Narcissa all know bits and pieces about my time at Hogwarts, but Draco and Harry have no idea. I would rather no-one else knew just how humiliating my school years were."

"I won't breathe a word," Hermione vowed as she once again linked arms with Severus as they continued on their walk.

For the rest of their walk the topic of James didn't come up again, and as they went their separate ways Hermione knew the subject would never be discussed again. Severus had shared some deeply personal memories, and Hermione felt honoured that he'd trusted her with his deepest secrets. And it was a trust she wasn't going to abuse by talking about it with anyone else. She was also going to trust that Severus kept his word about making more of an effort with Harry. With any luck peace would soon reign over the mansion and all working together they could look to the future and start planning on when they were going to return to Britain and bring about Dumbledore's downfall.

* * *

 **A/N – I just wanted to leave a quick note to let you all know that I'm having trouble with my laptop charger, so if I suddenly vanish and don't post it's because I can't get on the computer. However, a new one is on the way and I will try my best to keep up with the updating in the meantime, and if I do miss an update, I will catch up once my new charger arrives.**


	11. Chapter 11

On the morning of the first of September, Harry was awake early and filled with nerves. Even though he'd known all holidays that his eduction was to continue under the guidance of Narcissa and Severus, Harry was still nervous about what the day had in store for him. He was used to being in classes with lots of other students, yet he was about to embark on lessons with only two other people. And not just any other two people. Two people who for four years had been the top of the class at Hogwarts.

Obviously Harry was worried about not being able to keep up with Hermione and Draco, but he was also worried about being called on to answer questions he didn't know the answers to. Normally Harry kept under the radar when questions were asked in class, but it was going to be harder to do with only two other people sharing lessons with him. He could only hope that Narcissa and Severus would take it easy on him and he wasn't going to be totally outclassed by his best friend and her boyfriend.

Trying to suppress his nerves, Harry instead tried to focus on getting ready for the day ahead. There was no uniform to wear, but Harry still chose to dress in a pair of dark trousers and a shirt, rather than his usual choice of jumper or t-shirt. Since arriving in New Zealand, Harry's wardrobe had increased substantially and most of it had been bought by the Malfoys.

Once he'd settled in, he'd approached Narcissa to talk about money but she refused to allow him to hand over the money he'd had transferred into muggle money. She'd insisted that he didn't have to provide for himself, and that he would be treated as part of the family and provisions would be bought for him just as they were for Draco and Hermione. However, Narcissa had taken his muggle money and reverted it back to wizarding currency. Now Harry's fortune was stored in a safe hidden in the back of his wardrobe that only he had access to.

Another thing missing from his usual routine of getting ready for school was the books. Narcissa had assured him that every possible book he could need for his studies was already located in the library. And any new books that were needed had been bought over the holidays. So really all Harry had in his bag were his writing instruments and notebooks.

"This is so strange," Harry muttered as he checked out his reflection in the long floor length mirror in the corner of the room. After six years of attending school wearing his Gryffindor uniform it was certainly weird to be heading off to start a new year of education without it.

Picking up his super light bag, Harry left the bedroom and headed towards the stairs that led out of the part of the mansion he shared with Hermione and Draco. The route to the stairs took him past both Draco and Hermione's rooms, and while Draco's door was shut, Hermione's was open and when Harry glanced inside he found his best friend standing just inside the doorway, wrapped in a passionate embrace with her boyfriend. Like Harry the pair had clearly dressed with their lessons in mind, with Hermione in a knee high dark grey skirt and cream blouse and Draco dressed in a pair of black trousers and white shirt.

"Will you two put each other down," Harry tutted with a roll of his eyes. Initially he'd been flustered and embarrassed whenever he caught the pair kissing, but it quickly transpired that the two teenagers could barely keep their hands to themselves, so Harry had been forced to get used to the displays of affection.

"Harry," Hermione greeted with a grin, turning her head away from Draco but not removing herself from his arms. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," Harry replied. "So I could without watching the pair of you slobbering all over each other before I've had something to eat."

"No-one said you had to stay and watch," Draco drawled as he reluctantly let Hermione leave his arms and turned to face Harry. "Sometimes I think you get off on the voyeurism."

"Sometimes I think you forget that I'm here," Harry shot back.

"Harry does have a point," Hermione said to her boyfriend as she picked up her own bag. "We are so used to it just being the two of us when the adults aren't around that we sometimes forget that we don't have the same level of privacy."

"I guess you're right," Draco mumbled. "I'm going to have to get used to being part of a trio, aren't I?"

"Only part of the time," Hermione replied with a chuckle. "As much as I love Harry, I don't want him to be a part of everything we do."

"I can second that," Harry said hurriedly. "There are certain things I have no desire to be a part of. I don't even want to think about them."

"Then don't," Draco said as the threesome left Hermione's bedroom and headed towards the stairs to go down to breakfast.

"So what's today going to be like?" Harry asked nervously.

"It's like school, only without traipsing around the castle and having a different Professor for every lesson," Draco answered. "Judging from today's schedule, I reckon mother will be teaching us all morning, and then after lunch, Severus will be taking over in the potions lab."

If Harry was being honest it was the afternoon session he was dreading more. The timetable for that day had them having Transfiguration and Charms in the morning, but the whole afternoon was dedicated to Potions. Hermione had explained that Severus and Narcissa had arranged the timetable to give certain subjects more time, which meant that they only had Potions twice a week but both times the lessons were spread over an entire afternoon.

"Don't worry Harry, you'll be just fine," Hermione assured her friend as they arrived at the breakfast room.

Breakfast was an entirely normal affair with everyone present for the meal. The only difference was that Narcissa left the table early and reminded the trio that she expected them in the classroom by nine o'clock sharp or there would be trouble.

"What sort of trouble?" Harry asked once Narcissa had gone. "Does she hand out detention?"

"Or extra homework," Draco replied. "It depends what mood she's in and if she's got time to oversee a detention."

"Have you two ever had detention?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, Narcissa is pretty strict," Hermione replied. "We were once five minutes late to one of her lessons after lunch and she was not happy."

"At least we don't have house points to lose," Harry joked.

"There's always that," Draco agreed with a chuckle.

"Although you will get your first taste of detention if you don't get a move on," Severus drawled as he refilled his coffee cup.

"Damn, he's right, it's nearly nine," Hermione cursed, checking the time and seeing that Narcissa hadn't left as early as she'd thought.

Leaving behind the remains of their breakfast the three teenagers grabbed their bags and saying a hasty goodbye to the three wizards still enjoying their breakfast, they headed off for their first lesson. The classroom, and the other rooms they would be using for lessons, were located in the dungeons of the mansion. However, it wasn't dark and dreary and the classroom they entered was light and spacious. A teacher's desk stood at the front of the room, in front of a large blackboard that covered an entire wall, and facing it sat three double desks, with one chair at each desk. Hermione instantly grabbed the table in the middle, leaving Draco and Harry to sit at the tables on either side of her.

At nine o'clock the sound of a grandfather clock echoed around the room and Narcissa appeared from a door at the back of the classroom. Nodding happily to see the three of them already in their seats, she wasted no time to moving to the front of the class and beginning the first lesson of the year.

Despite his nervousness, Harry quickly found himself feeling more at ease as Narcissa began by going over the basics of Transfiguration and covering topics Harry had already learnt about in Hogwarts. As the lesson progressed to new territory, he wasn't too surprised when Narcissa focused on how Transfiguration could help them survive battles and prevail in difficult situations. It was clear that as well as studying each subject, they were also going to learn how to incorporate the various magical skills they were learning into their arsenal. They were certainly going to be prepared for anything that came their way in the future.

After ninety minutes of Transfiguration, Narcissa allowed the trio a fifteen minute break, before they turned their attention to the next topic of the morning – Charms. As with Transfiguration, Narcissa ran over some basics and discussed things Harry had already learnt about at Hogwarts before moving onto fresh terrain. As with Transfiguration emphasis was put on using the skills they were learning to practical use in their lives. Narcissa was adamant that everything they were learning could be used outside of the classroom to their benefit at some time or another.

"So how was your morning?" Hermione asked her best friend as they headed off for lunch at midday.

"I enjoyed it," Harry replied.

"That was nothing," Draco warned. "Mother was taking it easy since it was our first day back. By the end of the week, she'll be pushing us to our limits."

"To be honest, I'm more worried about this afternoon," Harry confessed. "I'm sure I can handle anything Narcissa has to throw at us. I'm not so sure with Snape."

"I thought he was starting to come round and accept you," Hermione said with a frown, wondering if she needed to have another word with Severus. Although from what she'd seen, he'd been making a real effort not to judge Harry on who his father was and how he'd been treated by him.

"I think he is," Harry admitted. "But I don't think that will stop him from being a demon in the Potions lab."

"That's true," Draco said, agreeing with Harry. "You know how tough Severus is. He doesn't even take it easy on you, and you're everyone's princess."

"Do not call me a princess," Hermione growled, hitting her boyfriend on the arm.

Harry chuckled to himself as Draco and Hermione bickered all the way to the dining room. However, he was still nervous and his nerves only got worse when Severus left the dining room a good fifteen minutes before they were due in the Potions lab. By the time they'd finished eating he was sick with worry and had to make a quick trip to the bathroom before joining Hermione and Draco in heading down to the dungeons for an afternoon of Potions.

As with the other classroom, the Potions lab had a wall covered with a blackboard, in front of which stood Severus's desk. Again facing the blackboard were three double desks with one seat a desk, only they also had a cauldron sitting on one side of the desk. There was also a long desk against the side wall, laden down with neatly labelled Potions ingredients. At least Harry didn't have to worry about using the wrong ingredient as everything had a label and it looked like everything had a proper place on the desk.

Like Narcissa, Severus gave a brief talk at the start of the lesson, focusing on being able to brew a good potion and what good it could do a person in the wider world. He then flicked his wrist and a series of written instructions appeared on the blackboard. With the instructions for the potion laid out, he then ordered the trio to get to work on brewing him the perfect potion.

Determined to prove himself, Harry was especially careful as he picked out all the ingredients he would need for the potion. He then spent an extra few minutes arranging them all neatly on his desk, before reading the first few steps of the potion carefully to make sure he didn't mess up. By the time he was ready to go, Hermione and Draco were already on the first step, but rather than let himself be rushed into catching up with them, he took his time in making sure he was doing everything right.

He was on the third step when Severus approached his desk and he immediately felt his heart rate shoot up with nerves. He'd already noticed Severus checking on Hermione and Draco, so had been prepared for his visit, but it still didn't help with his nerves. He was sure that Severus was going to find something to complain about.

"It's nice to see you've learned to organise yourself," Severus remarked. "Less mistakes are made if you're organised."

"I don't want to make any mistakes," Harry admitted.

"In that case I suggest lowering the flame on your cauldron just slightly," Severus advised. "And carry on focusing on your own work, just as you've been doing. Don't let yourself get caught up in trying to compete with Hermione and Draco."

"I know I can't compete with either of them," Harry snorted. "They're way better than I am at Potions."

"They just have more confidence," Severus replied with a slight shrug. "Draco's being making potions since he was a child. He was never intimated coming into my class, because I've known him for years. And as for Hermione, we both know how much effort she puts into being the best. She can brew a potion to perfection because she's learnt the recipe off by heart before she enters the class. I bet she spent last night reading up on potential potions I might ask you to brew for me."

"They still have ability I don't possess," Harry argued as he carefully chopped three earthworms into equal sized pieces.

"You have the ability, you just haven't unlocked it yet," Severus said. "It's in your blood, Harry. Your mother was sublime at Potions, and I dare say she's passed some of that ability onto you. Just channel your mother and you'll do just fine."

As Severus wandered away, Harry was momentarily thrown by the mention of his mother. But realising that for the first time since they'd met, Severus had been encouraging and not disparaging, he put his head down and got to work. By the end of the lesson, Harry wasn't entirely sure he'd managed to channel his mother and her potions ability, but he was fairly happy with the results. Severus also seemed happy with the potion he turned in and in yet another first for Harry, he heard the words 'well done' from Severus's mouth and directed to him.

The two words meant Harry's day ended on a high and as he joined Hermione and Draco in heading off to relax for a few hours, he found himself looking forward to the following day's lessons. Part of him missed Hogwarts, and he couldn't help but wonder what was going on at his old school, and how his absence was being explained, but he was settling into his new life in New Zealand and his instinct told him that he was going to do really well in his final year of schooling and quite possibly get N.E.W.T results that he'd once thought were beyond him.


	12. Chapter 12

Once Dumbledore and the Order had dealt with the initial shock of Harry's vanishing act, they had to decide what to do about it. Everyone was aware that if word got out that Harry had left the Order of his own free will that people would be reluctant to join their fight against Voldemort and his dark forces. People believed in the Order because they counted Harry among their numbers, and most people were convinced that he was the saviour that would destroy Voldemort and bring about peace to the wizarding world.

After tossing several ideas around, Dumbledore was the one who hit on the idea to use the story they'd spread about Hermione two years ago to their advantage. He suggested that they made it look as though Hermione had been using Harry's love for her and had lured him into a meeting with her, which of course was nothing but a trap. Dumbledore was convinced the letters would be easy to fake, and the story would be yet another nail in Voldemort's coffin as people would rally believing he was holding Harry against his will.

A search of the things Harry had left behind didn't reveal the letters he'd undoubtedly received from Hermione, meaning he's stashed them with his things at the twins place, but Dumbledore hadn't been concerned. He had enough samples of Hermione's handwriting at Hogwarts to produce a couple of forged letters that backed up what they were going to claim.

With the letters in his possession, Dumbledore convinced the Ministry that Harry had been lured into a trap rather than leaving of his own free will. Given Voldemort's shadowy presence in the wizarding world, the Ministry were only too happy to take Dumbledore and his word and Harry was officially reported as a missing person. Dumbledore also made sure the press got hold of the story and between the first article, which appeared a week after Harry's birthday, and the start of the new term at Hogwarts barely a day went by without a story appearing in the paper about Harry's kidnapping. Dumbledore had even given a couple of personal interviews himself, vowing not to give up on Harry and to urge people to keep the faith and that one day they would rescue Harry from the clutches of the girl he'd once thought was his best friend.

Although annoyingly for Dumbledore not everyone believed the story they were peddling. For two years the true story of what had happened with Hermione had been rumbling around the wizarding world, but Dumbledore had always managed to bat the claims away. However, with Harry's departure the rumblings got louder and more people were hearing the story and starting to question everything they thought they knew.

Although for some people, they'd always believed the truth about Hermione, so were downright refusing to buy the stories Dumbledore and the Order were trying to sell. Aside from Rubeus Hagrid, all of the other staff at Hogwarts had abandoned the Order two years ago, led by Minerva McGonagall. And McGonagall was not in the mood to hold back on the first of September when the staff at Hogwarts gathered to await the students for the start of yet another year. The second Dumbledore mentioned the situation with Harry in the staff meeting, McGonagall jumped on him, scoffing at the idea of Harry being in any sort of danger.

"More than likely he'd just been waiting for an opportunity to get away from you," she hissed at the headmaster, a wizard she'd once thought of a true friend and a good person.

"I know you disapprove of the way the Hermione situation was handled, Minerva," Dumbledore began.

"You mean all the lying you did and the blackening of that innocent girl's name," McGonagall interrupted. "Let's not forget Albus, everyone in this room knows the truth. We all know that those rumours about Hermione being The Dark Lord's daughter are true. But rather than facing up to what you'd done, you chose to lie and drag Hermione's reputation through the mud."

"I was doing what was best for everyone," Dumbledore insisted. "What good would have come from admitting the truth? Hermione was already lost to us, I was just making sure we didn't lose anyone else."

"Good job you did there," McGonagall snorted. "Look at Harry. He ran off the first chance he got."

"Harry was manipulated by a witch who for two years has been in Voldemort's control," Dumbledore argued. Since McGonagall and the staff didn't actually know the real story, he was adamant in sticking to the official line of Harry being lured into a meeting with Hermione and snatched.

"You expect us to believe the story the press are printing?" McGonagall cackled humourlessly.

"It's the truth," Dumbledore said solemnly. "We found those letters from Hermione hidden at the bottom of Harry's school trunk. They prove that for two years, Hermione has been whispering in his ear and playing on his feelings for her. Those letters prove that she's our enemy. The girl you knew is gone, Minerva. She truly is The Dark Lord's daughter now."

"How do we even know the letters are genuine?" McGonagall questioned. "You could have faked them, and quite honestly Albus, I wouldn't put it past you to pull such a stunt these days."

"We all know he was writing to Hermione," Dumbledore argued. "He didn't make a secret of the fact he was still in contact with her."

"Albus does have a point, Minerva," Pomona Sprout said gently. "I witnessed him sending letters on more than one occasion."

"But there is no proof that these are the letters he received in turn," McGonagall argued. "I'm sorry, but I for one, plan on keeping an open mind when it comes to Hermione and Harry. Even though Hermione is You-Know-Who's daughter, she is still the same girl we've all taught since she was eleven years old. She's a good person, I truly believe that. And I believe that wherever he is, Harry is safe."

"Let's hope too many people don't think the same way or else our world is doomed," Dumbledore sneered. "Even you can't deny the danger we face, Minerva. Have you forgotten that a little over a year ago there was a mass breakout from Azkaban and dozens of dangerous Death Eaters escaped?"

"I'm hardly likely to forget such a thing," McGonagall replied. "And I'm sure you're well aware Albus that everyone in this room will fight for our freedom and for our students. We are just refusing to align ourselves with you and your Order, because quite frankly your behaviour is just as bad, if not worse, than that of The Dark Lord and his followers."

When other members of staff nodded their agreement, an annoyed Dumbledore hastily wrapped up the meeting and headed back to the safety of his office for a couple of hours. The hostility towards him was reaching fever pitch in the school, and quite honestly Dumbledore wasn't sure what to do about it. When the students were around McGonagall and the other staff were as polite and respectful as always, but in private Dumbledore was well aware that he'd lost the support of his staff and in fact hadn't had it in two years now.

It was yet another thing that the whole mess with Hermione could take the blame for, and slowly Dumbledore was coming to equate blaming the mess with Hermione on blaming Hermione herself. After all, none of this would even have been happening if she'd chosen to come to him when she'd overheard Sirius and Molly talking, rather than running to her father. More and more, Dumbledore was coming to view Hermione as the enemy, and the fact she'd lured Harry away from the Order was the final straw as far as the headmaster was concerned. In his eyes, Hermione Granger was every bit as dangerous as her father, and he hoped she ended up with the same fate as Voldemort – which if he had anything to do with it would be a very painful death.

* * *

The staff at Hogwarts were not the only ones expressing their disbelief over recent stories in the press regarding Harry as the new year started. Even though the Slytherins had no interest in Harry, or what the truth was about his vanishing act, they used the opportunity to remind people of the truth about Hermione. Draco's friends in particle were eager to spread the story, and of course to remind people that because Hermione had been in fear of her life at the hands of the Order, their friend had been forced to leave the country as his parents sought to protect an innocent witch.

Although there was also dissent closer to the Order, and on their first night back at school, Gryffindor Tower was awash with gossip about their missing house mate. Even Hermione's disappearance two years ago didn't garner as much interest as Harry failing to return to Hogwarts for his last year.

"This feels so strange," Dean Thomas muttered, staring at Harry's empty bed in the boys dorms.

"Yeah, I keep expecting Harry to walk in, apologising for being late," Dean's best friend, Seamus Finnigan, added.

"It's not going to be the same without him," Dean agreed with a sigh.

"He's not dead you know," Ron snapped from where he was busy unpacking his trunk. "He'll be back."

"Really?" Seamus asked sceptically. "From what I've read, no-one knows where he is or what's happened to him. He could have been killed within hours of leaving your house."

"Harry is not dead," Neville stated confidently. "He's perfectly safe."

"And how would you know?" Ron questioned. These days he didn't have a great deal of time for Neville as while his grandmother had joined the Order, Neville was refusing to be drawn into things.

"Because he wrote to me to let me know he was safe," Neville replied.

"You've heard from Harry?" Dean gasped as both he and Seamus settled themselves on Neville's bed. "Have you told the Ministry? Maybe they could track his letter."

"I doubt it, otherwise Harry wouldn't have wrote," Neville replied with a shrug. "And I didn't tell the Ministry because Harry isn't a prisoner. Nor was he lured into a trap."

"Yes, he was," Ron snarled. "Dumbledore has proof. He has letters from Hermione."

"He has letters he claims is from Hermione," Neville argued. "We've all seen those letters in the papers, and they don't sound as though they're from Hermione."

"Neville does have a point," Dean said. "Seamus and I were just saying on the train that the letters don't seem like the sort of letters Hermione would write. They just don't sound as though they've come from her."

"How would you know? Has she ever wrote to either of you?" Ron demanded. "Let's not forget she was lying to us for years. All the time she was pretending to be our friend, she was sneaking around with Malfoy and Snape practising dark magic."

"Poppycock," Neville snorted. "I didn't believe those stories two years ago, and I don't believe them now. Harry told us all what happened after Hermione had gone."

"Harry was naive and believed everything she told him," Ron snorted. "I know the truth, and it wasn't what Harry wanted to believe. He wanted to believe in Hermione, and look where that's gotten him."

"Harry wasn't lured into a trap," Neville insisted. "He left of his own accord. He had everything planned to perfection. The twins had been helping him and they created a distraction so he could leave and go to their flat to grab his bag."

"Really?" Dean asked in wonder as he turned to Ron. "Did your brothers really help him leave?"

"Yes," Ron muttered, knowing that he couldn't deny Fred and George's involvement. "But they didn't realise it was a trap."

"For Merlin's sake, there was no trap," Neville snapped. "You know the truth, Ron. You're just making yourself look stupid by insisting on this lie."

"So what exactly is the truth?" Seamus asked Neville.

"The truth is, Harry was planning his escape for two years. From the moment he discovered the truth about Hermione, he wanted to be away from the Order. The twins helped him, by keeping things for him at their flat and transferring his money into muggle currency."

"They did what?" Ron interrupted, never having heard anything about money before.

"You heard me," Neville said, glaring angrily at Ron. "As well as making sure he had money and some clothes when he went, the twins also helped him arrange his escape. They created a diversion so he could slip away. And like me, they've heard from Harry since he left and they know he's safe."

"Is he with Hermione?" Dean asked.

"He didn't say for sure, but I would think it's a possibility," Neville answered.

"See, and that proves he's with the dark," Ron gloated gleefully. "It doesn't matter what you believe about Hermione, there's no denying she's with You-Know-Who and the Malfoys. And if Harry's with her, it means he's also with them."

"But it doesn't mean he's their prisoner," Neville argued. "Wherever he is, he's there of his own free will. Just ask the twins if you don't believe me," he said to Dean and Seamus. "They're more than happy to tell anyone the truth. I could even write to them and ask them to come up to Hogsmeade one weekend so they can speak to people in person. They'll set the record straight and make sure people know that Hermione hasn't trapped Harry, he left the Order because he couldn't stomach what they'd done to Hermione."

"You're not buying this, are you?" Ron asked Dean and Seamus. "Clearly Neville's too weak to see the truth. He's been manipulated just like Harry was."

"No Ron, I'm not the one being manipulated," Neville said. "I listened to both sides of the story and made my own mind up. I believe Harry, and I believe what he told me two years ago. I don't care if no-one else believes me, I know what the truth is."

"I believe you," Dean said softly.

"Me too," Seamus said.

"What?" Ron exploded, turning red in the face as he faced the three boys he'd once considered to be good friends. "It's all lies. The truth has been all over the papers for weeks, years even in Hermione's case."

"Neville has no reason to lie," Dean replied. "I believe him when he says Harry left of his own free will. We all know how unhappy he was after Hermione left."

"And he never wavered from his story about Hermione," Seamus added. "I'm sorry Ron, but we're with Neville on this."

"So you're saying I'm lying?" Ron demanded. "By believing him, you're calling me a lair. Why would I lie about my best friend?"

"For your family," Neville answered in a quiet voice. "If you admit the truth, that means you've got to admit your parents played a part in kidnapping Hermione as a baby. You would also be admitting that your mother plotted to kill her when she found out who she was. Maybe you're not ready to deal with what your family have done."

"And maybe you're just too scared to get involved in this war," Ron spat. "By believing these lies, you can hide and stay out of trouble. You're a coward, Neville, and the hat made a huge mistake placing you in Gryffindor."

"Do not call our friend a coward," Dean hissed as he and Seamus jumped to their feet and stood in between Ron and Neville. "A coward doesn't stand up for what he believes in, like Neville is doing right now."

"From where we're standing there's only one person scared in this room, and that's you, Ron," Seamus said. "You're scared to admit the truth, and admit that your parents have done wrong and deserve to be punished."

"You're making a big mistake believing him over me," Ron warned in a low voice. "One day soon you'll see the truth. You'll realise that Hermione is the enemy. One day you'll regret not standing with me."

"Somehow, I don't think so," Seamus muttered as Ron turned on his heel and stormed out of the boys dorms, severing the friendships that had been growing for six years.


	13. Chapter 13

While Hermione, the Malfoys and Severus had made a permanent move to New Zealand, Voldemort hadn't and he spent most of his time shuttling back and forth between his daughter's new home and Britain, where he was continuing to swell his supporters and sow the seeds for his eventual takeover of Wizarding Britain. As such, he was well aware of how Harry's disappearance was being reported back home in England. However, he'd kept the news from his daughter and her friend as he didn't feel it would be advantageous of them to know what was being said behind their backs. That was until the first Friday of their new school year when he decided the time was right to make sure the fire was still burning in his daughter.

On the day in question, Voldemort was at the breakfast table early and he had with him a recent edition of The Daily Prophet, one which rehashed the entire story that had been appearing daily in the papers in Britain. Both Lucius and Severus had questioned why Voldemort had suddenly decided to bring the story to Hermione and Harry's attention, but Voldemort was positive that he was doing the right thing.

"I think it's time they learned just what was happening in their absence," he announced, just as Hermione, Harry and Draco entered the breakfast room.

"Are you talking about us?" Hermione asked as the trio settled down to grab some breakfast.

Since it was Friday, and today's lessons weren't taking place in the classroom the trio were dressed more casually. Since Harry wasn't sure what to expect, he'd followed Hermione and Draco's lead and had dressed for action. The pair had been pretty confident they would be doing some sort of duelling or fighting, so they'd advised Harry to be prepared for anything.

"Why would we be talking about you?" Voldemort asked with a smile.

"Then what were you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"You actually," Voldemort replied with a chuckle.

"So what do we need to know?" Hermione asked, giving her father an unimpressed glare.

"Take a look," Voldemort said, passing the newspaper over to his daughter.

Hermione opened the paper up and read the story dominating the news in Britain. As she read she felt her blood begin to boil and by the time she'd finished she was absolutely seething. With a low growl she slammed the paper down onto the table, where Draco picked it up and began to read the story.

"Remind me again why we have to wait?" Hermione snapped at her father.

"We're waiting, because I will not put you in a situation you're not ready for," Voldemort answered calmly. For years he hadn't been able to be calm and considered, but having his daughter back in his life had changed everything and this time he was determined not to do anything rash.

"I'm ready," Hermione growled. "I'm ready to make Dumbledore and his cronies suffer."

"And we will, Hope," Voldemort said with a smirk. "But we'll let the old goat stew a bit longer. When the time is right we will strike, and when we do, he'll not know what's hit him."

"What's going on?" Harry ventured, slightly taken aback by the venom in Hermione's voice. He'd already learnt that Hermione had embraced her inner darkness and was out to bring Dumbledore down, but he'd never heard or seen her to worked up.

"Take a look," Draco said, passing the paper over to Harry.

At first Harry couldn't believe what he was reading, but as it sunk in, his anger began to rise. Like Hermione he was furious at Dumbledore, and even though he now knew just what the headmaster was capable of, he still struggled to believe how vindictive he was being towards Hermione. Even though everything that was happening to Hermione was Dumbledore's fault, he was determined to discredit her in the eyes of Wizarding Britain and he would stop at nothing to blacken her name.

"That bastard," he spat when he finally finished the story and threw the paper down onto the table in disgust. "How can anyone be believing this rubbish?"

"Rumour has it not everyone is believing it," Voldemort said. "According to my sources there is a wave of rebellion against Dumbledore. The truth is being told to those who wish to listen."

"So why aren't you acting on that and making the truth known?" Harry demanded. "Yet again, Hermione is being painted as the villain, and you're doing nothing about it."

"What do you want me to do, force the papers to tell out side of the story?" Voldemort asked.

"It would be a start," Harry muttered.

"No, it would be foolish," Voldemort corrected. "Dumbledore is able to manipulate the media because of his reputation. For those who don't know the truth about him, he's the person to believe in and trust. I don't have that same sort of reputation, so anything I force into print will be called into question. People will just say that I'm trying to twist the facts."

"And don't forget, we told the truth to the Ministry," Lucius added. "They had everything they needed to bring Dumbledore and his Order to justice, but they allowed themselves to be manipulated by him instead."

"We're better off having a wave of underground support," Voldemort concluded. "When it comes to the crunch, we'll have people on our side who know the truth. And when all is said and done and we've taken control, we can put the story straight and clear Hope's name."

"So what do we do until then?" Harry asked. "Just wait and allow more lies to be spread?"

"We don't wait, we prepare for war," Voldemort answered. "Which is what we're going to do today. Once you're finished breakfast I want the three of you in the training room."

Leaving the paper on the breakfast table, Voldemort rose to his feet and swept out of the room. Lucius and Severus followed close behind him, but Narcissa remained in the room while the three teenagers finished their breakfast. Once the meal was over, Narcissa headed off to prepare for the following weeks lessons, while the trio headed towards the training room.

The training room was set out exactly as it had been the first time Harry had set foot in it, the day he'd duelled Lucius. Clearly the day was going to be focused on duelling and fighting, and Harry was hoping that he was prepared to do battle. After all nothing had changed since his last duel, but he was determined to do his best.

"Hope, Draco," Voldemort called, beckoning the pair to move into the middle of the floor. "You've both had several weeks off, so I want to be sure you've forgotten nothing. Remember the lessons we had last year, and prove to me that you're ready to move forward in your training."

While Hermione and Draco prepared to duel, Severus and Lucius took up positions behind the pair. Lucius positioned himself behind his son, while Severus settled for a position behind Hermione. While the two adults gave the teenagers a few last minute pieces of advice, Harry was approached by Voldemort and urged to join him on a seat against the wall, where they could enjoy the action.

"Don't look so nervous," Voldemort chuckled as Harry perched on the edge of his seat as Draco and Hermione took their positions in front of each other. "They know what they're doing."

"What if one of them gets hurt?" Harry asked.

"Then they'll get treatment," Voldemort answered with a shrug of his shoulder. "Neither of them would use a really dangerous curse against the other. This is just a drill to keep them on their toes and battle ready."

Harry hoped that Voldemort was right as Lucius gave the word and the duel began. Immediately Harry sucked in a breath as Draco and Hermione flew into action. Both of them had a solid repertoire of hexes and curses up their sleeve and neither of them waited for the other one to fire a reply before firing a second shot. The pair were constantly moving, dodging curses and throwing them, and even when they were hit, they got straight back up again and returned to the fray. Harry was in awe watching the pair, and he was amazed by how focused they were on trying to bring each other down. If he hadn't known how close they now were he would have thought it was past animosity that was driving their duel.

"With practice, you can have the same abilities," Voldemort said to Harry.

"I don't know about that," Harry admitted, watching with wide eyes as Hermione's sleeve was torn open with a curse that cut into her skin. However, it didn't slow her friend and she retaliated with a spell that knocked Draco flat on his back.

"It's all in the training," Voldemort said. "Neither Hope or Draco could fight like this two years ago. They were like you, they would throw one curse and then wait for their opponent to fire back. We've taught them to never stop fighting. You fire as many hexes and curses you can at your opponent, even if they can't shoot as many back at you."

"It seems like a good strategy," Harry replied, just as Hermione moved closer to Draco and he grabbed her arm not holding her wand and pulled her towards him. "Hey, that's cheating," he called as Draco twisted Hermione's arm behind her back.

"It's called using whatever skills you can to your advantage," Voldemort corrected. "Hope ventured too close, so Draco used it to his advantage."

"With muggle fighting?" Harry queried.

"If the situation calls for it, I never object to a bit of physical contact in a fight," Voldemort answered with a shrug. "More often than not magical opponents don't expect a physical fight."

Harry could see the advantages to attacking an opponent physically, but right at this moment he was more worried about Hermione. Draco had her well and truly in his grasp, and Harry couldn't help but gasp when Hermione began to whimper in pain. While the three adult wizards didn't react to Hermione's pain, Draco did and Harry noticed his grip loosening. However, no sooner had Draco loosened his hold on Hermione than a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. Quick as a flash she pulled out of Draco's grasp, unexpectedly kicked his legs out from under him and as he went crashing to the floor, she pounced on him, plucking his wand from his fingers and holding both it and her own wand against his throat.

"Whoa," Harry gasped as Voldemort chuckled lowly, Lucius shook his head and Severus smirked like a proud father.

"Will you ever learn Draco?" Lucius asked his son as Hermione hopped off her boyfriend and after being declared the victor, gave him back his wand. "Never trust an opponent when they fake injury."

"I thought it was genuine," Draco argued, giving his girlfriend a stern glare. "I never would have let anyone else go."

"You need to toughen up in this room," Lucius informed his son. "You need to prove to us that you can bring down anyone, even your girlfriend."

"Give me another chance," Draco said determinedly. "I'll not let her escape again."

"Bring it on," Hermione laughed from across the room.

"Go ahead," Voldemort agreed as Lucius and Severus looked to him for guidance.

As the pair started to fight again, Harry found himself entranced by how well Hermione fought. Draco was good as well, and he made good use of his quick reflexes which had served him well as a seeker, but it was Hermione that really captured Harry's attention. There was steel in her eyes and just watching her Harry knew she would prove to be a formidable opponent. The Order really weren't going to know what hit them when they faced Hermione in battle.

"She's good, isn't she?" Voldemort asked, sounding as though he was reading Harry's mind.

"Very impressive," Harry replied. "I've never seen this side of her before."

"She never had this side of her before," Voldemort said. "Of course she had a dark side, everyone does you know. But the key is finding the trigger to unlock it. Most people never find the trigger, and therefore are never aware of just what they're capable of."

"What was Hermione's trigger? Discovering you were her father?"

"No, I wasn't her trigger," Voldemort answered with a chuckle. "In fact, when she first came to me she was adamant she wouldn't fight. She was broken by what she'd discovered, but it wasn't enough to unleash her darkness."

"Then what did unleash it?" Harry asked, curious as to what exactly had triggered the change in his best friend and urged her to embrace her darker nature.

"The Order, and the lies they told about her," Voldemort answered. "Discovering her kidnapping nearly sent her over the edge, but at that point seeing justice done would have satisfied her. But then Dumbledore evaded justice and in the process trashed her good name. It may not have been the worst thing the Order had done to her, but combined with everything else, it was enough to tip her over the edge and get her to feel the need for revenge."

"That's why you showed her the paper today, isn't it?" Harry asked. "You wanted to make sure she desire for revenge was still burning."

"I did," Voldemort replied with a nod, not even thinking of denying the truth. "Not that I think her desire for revenge will fade. She's embraced her destiny as my daughter, and nothing will change her path now."

"And what if this had never happened?" Harry questioned. "What if Dumbledore hadn't managed to wriggle off the hook? What if he'd been arrested and justice had been done? What if Hermione had never embraced her darkness? Would you still love her?"

"She's my daughter, I would love her regardless of what side she was on," Voldemort answered honestly. "I won't lie, I do like that she's entered into the darkness. But even if she'd maintained her original stance and refused to get involved with anything dark, I would still love her. I haven't pushed her into this, Harry. If anything, it was the Order who tipped her over the edge. Even when she first ran from them she wasn't going to turn to the darkness. Their actions pushed her into embracing the darker side of life. They created that ball of fury you can see battling Draco. They created a girl who will stop at nothing to bring down the people who hurt her."

For a moment, Harry was silent as he watched Hermione hurl hex after hex her boyfriend's way. She was relentless and nothing stopped her from continuing her barrage against Draco. From where Harry was sitting, her darkness was shining through, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was out of his league. What if he never found the trigger to unlock his own potential for darkness? What if he remained stuck in some sort of in-between limbo, not willing to fight for the light and not ready to fight for the dark?

"Then you have to find your trigger," Voldemort said when Harry asked his questions out loud. "Although for the record, I think I know what it is."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Hope," Voldemort answered. "Even though you disagreed with the Order and wanted to leave them, you didn't have to come to us. You had a solid plan of escape and with your money transferred into muggle money, you could have escaped without the Order been able to find you. Yet, you chose to come here and join forces with the man who killed your parents and who tried to kill you on more than one occasion."

"Surely that just makes me an idiot," Harry argued, not liking how bad his decision sounded when Voldemort put it into words.

"You came here for a reason," Voldemort continued. "And that reason is Hope," he said, pointing towards his daughter. "You're here because you can't stand by and watch what happened to her go unpunished. If you want to unleash that potential that lies within you, just remember everything my daughter has been through. She was stolen from her parents as a child, and because of that kidnapping she never got the chance to know her mother. She was manipulated from the moment she started Hogwarts. Then she was subject of a plot that would have left her dead if she hadn't escaped. Since she was a child her life has been torn to shreds and twisted to suit Dumbledore's purposes. Who's to say that he wasn't planning on turning on her in the end? Who's to say that if he'd killed me, he wouldn't have then turned around and killed my daughter? And even if he hadn't, just look at the way he's turned on her now. He's done nothing but blacken her name for two years, and now she's getting the blame for you leaving them. Dumbledore has done his best to ruin Hope's life. Just you remember that Harry. Just you remember all the pain and suffering my daughter has gone through because of that interfering old man."

As Voldemort was talking, Harry could feel his desire for revenge growing. By the time Draco had finally bettered Hermione, he was more than ready for his own duel. And when Severus stepped up to face him, Harry held nothing back as he focused himself on being the best he could be.

Watching Harry fight with a passion that had been sorely lacking the first time he'd seen him in action, Voldemort couldn't help but smirk to himself. He was now confident that he'd finally unlocked the darker side of Harry Potter, and he had every faith that by the time they were ready to face Dumbledore and his Order, Harry would be well and truly loyal to the dark. Both he and Hermione were going to be vital to the final outcome of the war, of that Voldemort was certain, and he was now confident that when push came to shove, Harry would chose the dark above all others.


	14. Chapter 14

Following his talk with Voldemort, Harry found himself embracing his darker side. He stopped holding back and worrying about doing what was right, and instead focused on doing what came natural. It meant that he was coming on leaps and bounds in the practical lessons, and while he couldn't yet fight with the same freedom Hermione and Draco possessed, he was doing a lot better than he had been when he'd first started.

As for what Voldemort reckoned was the key to unleashing his potential, Harry suspected he was only half right. He couldn't argue with the fact his love for Hermione had played a huge part in his choice to join allegiances with the dark rather than going it alone in the muggle world, and without his relationship with Hermione, he would never have had anything to do with her father. However, Harry believed that another reason for his embracing of a darker nature was because of Dumbledore. Even without taking into account what he'd done to Hermione over the last two years, Harry could see that his best friend wasn't the only one the headmaster had manipulated.

Looking back at his life, Harry could see Dumbledore's influence stretching back to the night his parents were killed. Instead of letting him be raised in the wizarding world, he'd sent him into the muggle world with people who detested him. Although what had given him the right to decide where he was raised, Harry still wasn't sure. It seemed like he'd just snatched him, as he'd done with Hermione, and made the decision where he was to be brought up. Although, his manipulations hadn't stopped there, and Harry could see his influence throughout his years at Hogwarts.

Harry could now see that most of what had happened at Hogwarts, could have been prevented by Dumbledore. Dumbledore had been the one to bring the Philosopher's Stone to Hogwarts, and therefore drawing danger to the school. He also could have done more to stop events with the Chamber of Secrets in second year. He also could have told Harry the truth about Sirius in third year instead of letting him spend the year fearing for his life, and he certainly could have stopped him from having to participate in The Triwizard Tournament in fourth year. But then if Dumbledore had acted as he should have done, he might never have been able to convince Harry that he was the only way to defeat Voldemort, and Harry could now clearly see that it had always been Dumbledore's intention to force Harry into the role of hero, even if he hadn't wanted it.

Another thing, Harry couldn't help but dwell on was how different things might have been if not for Dumbledore's interference with Hermione when she was just a baby. Even though Voldemort had been completely honest with him and had admitted that he still might have gone after the Potters even if he hadn't lost his daughter, Harry suspected otherwise. Just watching him with Hermione, and seeing how collected and patient he was, convinced Harry that his rashness back when he killed his parents was down to grief. With each passing day, Harry became increasingly convinced that if his daughter hadn't been taken and his wife hadn't taken her own life, things would have been very different in the wizarding world. Not that Harry thought that Voldemort would have given up on his desire to take over Wizarding Britain, but he might have gone about it differently. Who knows how many lives might have been saved if it hadn't been for Dumbledore and his Order provoking Voldemort and making him so mad with grief that he didn't care who he hurt.

Still, his theory wasn't something he could prove, and Harry was sure that the likes of Dumbledore would argue that they didn't make Voldemort the danger he so obviously was. And maybe they didn't create the danger and darkness in Voldemort, but they certainly made it worse. Not that Harry cared what Dumbledore or anyone else associated with the Order thought. He'd made his choice, and his allegiance was firmly with Hermione and her father.

With Harry's new-found acceptances of what he was capable of, and where his loyalties lay, he found he was enjoying his time in New Zealand much more. He was even enjoying his lessons, and while he would never be able to match Hermione and Draco academically, he wasn't exactly showing himself up. However, Harry's real pleasure came from the practical lessons the trio had on Fridays. After a few weeks of duelling, the trio had then tackled some survival courses in the woods. Not only were they getting magically fit for the upcoming war, but they were getting physically fit as well.

As October due to a close, Voldemort, Severus and Lucius had hinted that they were planning something special for the last practical lesson of the month. Eager as he always was on a Friday, Harry was up and raring to go long before breakfast and he was the first of the three teenagers in the breakfast room.

"You're keen," Draco remarked with a chuckle as he and Hermione entered the room a good ten minutes after Harry.

"What can I say, I love Fridays," Harry answered with a grin.

"I preferred the duelling," Draco grouched.

Over the last couple of weeks, when lessons had been transferred into the woods, Draco had been less than happy. While he didn't mind the physical activity, he wasn't over keen on traipsing through the dirty woods and ending up battered and bruised. Whereas neither Hermione and Harry minded the dirt, or the ruined clothes, Draco did and he usually spent Friday evenings bitterly complaining about the day's lessons.

"I like the outdoors," Harry said. "Although these last few weeks, I feel like I'm taking part in the Triwizard Tournament again."

"It's a bit pointless if you ask me," Draco grumbled. "It's not like we're going to have to battle our way through enchanted woods once we go back to England."

"Who knows what we might have to face," Hermione argued. "We're just being well prepared for any possibility."

"More like the three fathers are just tormenting us," Draco snorted.

"As if we would do such a thing, Draco," Voldemort drawled, entering the room with a smirk on his face. "As Hope says, we're just preparing the three of you for every eventuality. We're not going to risk your lives until we're sure you can handle anything thrown at you."

"We can handle it," Hermione vowed.

"We'll find out just how much you can handle today," Voldemort replied. "Once you're finished, you're to fly over to the clearing in the centre of the woods. Lucius, Severus and I will be waiting for you there."

"What do you think they have in store for us?" Hermione asked as her father headed back out of the room, having delivered his message.

"We'll find out if we finish breakfast and get over there," Harry said, quickly polishing off the remaining scraps of toast on his plate.

"There's no rush," Draco said, taking his time over his own breakfast, which he'd only just started.

Hermione was in agreement with Draco and the pair had a leisurely breakfast, before grabbing their brooms and heading outside. Even though Hermione wasn't as good on a broom as the boys, she had no trouble keeping up as they flew over the dense woods to where the three fathers were waiting. As they flew, both Harry and Draco tried to see what could be in store for them in the woods below, but the trees were too dense and they couldn't see anything but greenery.

"Finally," Lucius muttered when the trio landed. "We were just thinking you three had chickened out of lessons today."

"As if," Draco snorted. "We're ready for whatever you've got for us."

"What we've got is the biggest test you've faced so far," Voldemort explained. "One by one you're to enter the forest, and make your way back to the house. You'll each be timed so we can check how quickly you can move."

"I doubt it's a straightforward race though," Hermione said.

"As always there'll be challenges for you to overcome," Voldemort replied. "Including a very special challenge I've had prepared especially."

"To make sure one of you doesn't clear the way for the others, we've got three starting points," Severus said, pointing to three markers that had been erected pointing into the woods.

"Who starts where?" Draco asked.

"It's your choice," Lucius replied. "Decide amongst yourselves who starts where and who's going to go first."

None of the trio had a preference as to where to start, since they didn't know what awaited on each trail, so they just randomly positioned themselves in front of the three markers. They'd also decided that the person at the first marker, who was Draco, would go first and then they would follow down the line, meaning Harry would go last.

"Right," Lucius said, stepping up to his son with a magical stopwatch. "Draco, your time starts now."

The first thing Draco did before entering the woods was cast a spell on his wand to keep him heading in the right direction. It was a method the trio had been using since their first time in the woods, as even though the woods were part of the property they were still wild and held unknown dangers and none of them had wanted to get lost. Once Draco had his bearing, he barrelled into the woods without a backwards glance.

Ten minutes later, Voldemort activated Hermione's timer and like Draco she got a bearing before she headed into the dark woods. Another ten minutes then passed before Severus allowed Harry to join the other two teenagers in the woods. Like Draco and Hermione, Harry used the same spell to get his bearing, before he ventured into the unknown.

"So what do we think?" Lucius asked as Harry disappeared into the woods. "Who's going to get through the fastest?"

"I may be biased, but Hope is a natural fighter," Voldemort replied.

"She is," Severus agreed. "But Draco doesn't hold as much back as she does."

"Yes, but Draco doesn't like the elements," Lucius said. "In a straight fight, I might have backed him to win. But travelling through the woods, my money is on Harry."

"Harry?" Voldemort questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Since we've moved into the woods, he's been in his element," Lucius replied. "He's quick and he thinks on his feet."

"I'm still going for Hope," Voldemort said with a shrug. "After all, this is more than a simple race. Hope is equally as forceful as Harry, and she's got the duelling part down to a fine art."

"But it's not just simple duelling they'll be doing," Severus pointed out. "They're going to be taken be total surprise by the ambush."

"I still have every confidence me daughter will prevail," Voldemort said. "Just like I have every confidence the two boys will give very good showings. I expect all three to be back home before midday."

"Let's see, shall we," Lucius chuckled as they prepared to head back to the house to wait for the three teenagers to compete their task.

* * *

While the three fathers awaited the teenagers, battles were being fought in the woods. As always there was plenty of magical obstacles to overcome, with the trio all being forced to think on their feet and use the magic they were learning in their lessons to their advantage. There was also physical trials to overcome, and by the time the they'd been in the woods for nearly an hour all three were bruised and dirty from their excursions. However, even Draco didn't stop to dwell on how he looked and what a mess he was, as he was determined to get the best time and show that he was just as capable as Hermione and Harry when it came to traversing the woods.

In different parts of the woods, Hermione and Harry were just as determined as Draco to succeed and they were throwing themselves into every obstacle that came their way. Of the trio, Draco was the first to encounter the surprise Voldemort had mentioned. He's only just squeezed out from in between two enchanted rocks, which had tried to squash him, when a shadow caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. No sooner had he registered the shadow then two Death Eaters in full robes and masks leapt from the trees. Draco's first thought was that it was father and Severus, but then he realised that the two of them couldn't possibly hope to fight all three of them before they reached the house, and if he had to face Death Eaters than so did Hermione and Harry.

Sure enough, Hermione and Harry soon came face to face with their own batch of Death Eaters. As with Draco, they initially came face to face with two Death Eaters, but there were more present in the woods and each of the trio had to face at least half a dozen of Voldemort's best followers. And the Death Eaters were not holding back, so getting past them was no easy matter.

Hermione was the first to disarm and elude all of her Death Eaters, even though she had a slashed right cheek for her efforts. Unaware that his girlfriend had beaten him through her Death Eaters, Draco was the next to disable his final opponent and carry on his journey through the woods. Although, Harry was having a harder time of it then the other two teenagers, and even though he'd moved through the first two Death Eaters without too much hassle, the ones that came after that were proving harder to put down.

Finally, Harry knocked out what he thought was the final Death Eater, but just as he was about to carry on with his journey he was tackled from behind. The Death Eater who had attacked him was one of the first ones Harry had faced, not that he knew that as they all looked alike with their robes and mask on. However, this second time around the Death Eater was more brutal than ever and only Harry's quick reflexes saved him from having his head bashed in with a rock.

"What the hell?" Harry gasped, kneeing the Death Eater in the groin and wriggling out from underneath him.

Scrambling to his feet, Harry made sure his wand was gripped tightly in his hand as he turned to face the Death Eater who was getting to his own feet. Instinct told Harry it would be unwise to turn his back on his opponent, and he was right as the Death Eater hammered him with spell after spell. Fortunately Harry's recent training paid off and not only was he able to defend himself, but he was also able to get a few hits in of his own. Although the Death Eater wasn't giving up and Harry cried out in dismay as the Death Eater cried out a very familiar and deadly spell, which sent a green light hurtling his way.

"Shit," Harry cried, only just avoiding the jet of magic which would have killed him.

The attempt on his life only managed to rile Harry up, and jumping to his feet, he sent every spell he could think of at the Death Eater. The Death Eater hadn't been expecting such a ferocious response and he ended up struggling to keep on his feet as Harry bombarded him. Remembering what he'd learnt about never letting up on an ailing opponent, Harry carried on with the onslaught and even when the Death Eater went down, he didn't stop. He fired hex after hex at the Death Eater, and only stopped once he was sure that he was unable to get back up without help.

"Bastard," Harry spat, picking up the Death Eaters wand and throwing it into the trees, where he couldn't reach it.

Knowing he would now be seriously behind Hermione and Draco, Harry checked his bearing before taking off into the woods at top speed. Now he had to make up as much time as he could after his delay, or else he would be arriving back at the house hours after Hermione and Draco.

* * *

Back at the house, Voldemort, Lucius and Severus were anxiously waiting at the edge of the woods for the three teenagers to arrive. When they heard rustling nearby, they all got ready to stop their stopwatch depending on who emerged from the woods. As Voldemort had predicted, his daughter was the first to arrive and she burst out of the woods followed less than a minute later by Draco.

"Very good," Voldemort said as he and Lucius both stopped their watches.

"Are you hurt?" Draco asked his girlfriend in concern, spotting the blood running down her face.

"It's just a scratch," Hermione replied. "Courtesy of one of your Death Eaters," she added to her father. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting them."

"That was the general idea," Voldemort said with a chuckle. "Although I take it you both got past them well enough."

"It wasn't easy," Draco replied, collapsing onto the grass as Lucius checked Hermione's cheek.

Once Hermione was given the all-clear she settled down beside Draco as they waited for Harry to arrive. When half an hour passed with no sign of him, Hermione was getting worried and it was clear the three adults were also concerned.

"Have we been overestimating him?" Lucius asked in a whisper. "Was he not able to cope?"

"He should have been able to," Voldemort muttered. "If he's not back in ten minutes, I think we should go looking for him."

Ten minutes later the three adult wizards were just about to go in search for Harry, when he burst from the woods. Hermione was the first one to reach his side, and she flung her arms around Harry in greeting.

"We were getting worried about you," she confessed.

"You had every right to be," Harry said loudly, focusing on Voldemort, his eyes blazing with anger. "I very nearly didn't make it back."

"What happened?" Draco asked.

"One of the Death Eaters shot the killing curse at me," Harry snarled, his attention still on Voldemort. He'd begun to trust the dark wizard, but now he was wondering if he'd made a huge mistake.

"They did what?" Voldemort questioned in a low growl.

"You heard," Harry replied. "It was only my quick reflexes that saved my life."

"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" Hermione checked with her father, hoping that the look she was reading in his eyes was anger and not disappointment.

"No, it bloody well wasn't," Voldemort snarled as he shut his eyes and focused on summoning the Death Eaters, who'd he'd summoned to help with the morning's event.

Voldemort had no sooner opened his eyes than wisps of black smoke rose from the wood. With a series of cracks, several Death Eaters appeared on the lawn in front of the woods. Voldemort quickly counted his Death Eaters, before ordering them to remove their masks.

"Where's Dolohov?" he barked, working out who was missing.

"He was with me," a female Death Eater offered. "We were the first wave of attack on Potter. He got the drop on Dolohov quickly. He then took me down, and by the time I got back up, Dolohov was gone. I assumed he'd come back here, even though we were told to wait to be summoned back."

"You didn't think he would go after Harry again?" Voldemort asked.

"No," the Death Eater replied. "We were ordered to stand down once we'd been taken out of commission."

"I want him found," Voldemort snarled. "Get back in those woods and bring him to me."

At once the Death Eaters dispersed into the woods, along with Lucius and Severus. Voldemort did try and get the three teenagers to go back indoors, but they all wanted to wait and see what was going to happen. Harry especially was eager to see what was going to happen as it was clear that Voldemort hadn't ordered Dolohov to try and kill him. Or at least if he had, he was playing it as though he hadn't. Although Harry was willing to give Voldemort the benefit of the doubt as he strongly suspected that if he did turn on him, then he would end up losing his daughter.

The wait wasn't overly long and less than half an hour later, Lucius and Severus emerged from the woods, a Death Eater propped between them. Once they were clear of the woods, they unceremoniously dropped Dolohov at Voldemort's feet, where he collapsed with a whine of pain. Looking down at the prone Death Eater in distaste, Voldemort summoned back his other Death Eaters.

"I want you all to witness this," Voldemort said, before turning to Dolohov and pulling him to his feet by his hair. "Well Dolohov, what do you have to say for yourself? Did you try and kill Harry Potter?"

"No," Dolohov replied hoarsely.

"Don't lie to me," Voldemort barked. "Did you try and kill him, or not? Lie to me again, and it'll be the last thing you do," he added as a warning.

"Yes, I did it," Dolohov admitted in a shaking voice. "I thought you would be pleased."

"Why would I be pleased that you disobeyed orders?" Voldemort growled, pushing Dolohov to the ground. "I don't care what you think of Harry, but not one of you is to touch him. He's family, and he's out of your reach. If anyone tries anything like this again, Dolohov's punishment will seem like a walk in the park in comparison."

"But he hasn't been punished," Hermione pointed out.

"Have patience, Hope," Voldemort chuckled. "I'm just getting to Dolohov's punishment. Although I do have to say that Harry's already done a good job on him."

"He deserved it," Harry spat.

"Yes, he did," Voldemort agreed. "And he certainly deserves this. Crucio!"

Dolohov cried out in pain as the curse hit him, but not one person watching felt any sympathy for him. Even the Death Eaters who had no liking of Harry, didn't approve of what he'd done as he'd disobeyed The Dark Lord's orders. As any good Death Eater knew, Voldemort's world was final, and on this matter it was clear. Harry Potter was not to be touched, he was part of The Dark Lord's family and a vital part of the upcoming war in wizarding Britain.


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione was thrilled with how Harry's first few months with the family had gone, and if she was being honest, it was more successful than she'd ever dared to dream. When she'd first discovered who she was, she'd honestly thought that it would mean saying goodbye to Harry and his friendship. Even when he'd first written to her and made it clear that he wasn't on the Order's side, she'd never dreamed that they would one day be reunited and be on the same side again.

Hermione's hopes of maintaining their bond had started to rise after they'd left the country and her correspondence with Harry was still regular. When he'd started talking about running away from the Order, Hermione had hoped for the best, but deep down she'd always been prepared for a brief meeting and then a separation. It had always seemed too much to hope for that Harry would fully abandon the Order and pledge his allegiance with her father.

Even when they'd first brought Harry to New Zealand, Hermione had been doubtful that it would work out in the long term. Because even though Harry clearly hated the Order and was more than happy to walk away from them, Hermione could see he was hesitant to unleash his hatred and let it turn into darkness. But then something had passed between Harry and her father and everything changed, although what it was Hermione wasn't quite sure as neither of them had explained fully what had happened between them. All Hermione knew was that Harry had stopped holding back, and he'd fully embraced what he was capable of and the potential for darkness that Hermione had learned everyone had inside them.

From that moment, Harry had been a changed person and Hermione had been delighted to find he'd thrown himself head first into his studies and learning to become the most dangerous wizard he could hope to be. Then the incident with the Dolohov had occurred, and since the moment Voldemort had referred to him as family, Harry's confidence had sky-rocketed and he'd grown in stature. Hermione believed the incident had proved once and for all to Harry that he'd made the right choice, and that he was fully accepted in the heart of the dark side.

Now all that awaited them was the chance to prove their skills in a real battle. Hermione knew the chance wouldn't come before they'd finished their education, but she hoped it wouldn't be long after that when they returned home and set about bringing down Dumbledore and his Order. Hermione had appreciated Voldemort not rushing in the moment they'd been reunited and he'd discovered the truth, but more than two years had passed since the truth had emerged and Hermione was growing tired of waiting to get her revenge. She wanted to deal with Dumbledore, so she could move on and get on with her life with Draco.

After a merry festive season, during which the war bubbling in Britain wasn't mentioned, Hermione sought out her father on New Year's Eve. She already knew he had plans to return to Britain that day, so that he would be back home for New Year to cause a bit of havoc. It was his present for Dumbledore and the Order, and his way of reminding them that the threat hadn't gone away, and that one day soon retribution would be sought.

"What's wrong, Hope?" Voldemort asked when Hermione made a rare appearance at his bedroom door, where he'd been packing.

"Nothing," Hermione replied, entering the room and settling down on a seat beside the window. "Nice view," she remarked.

"I doubt you came to admire the view from my window," Voldemort chuckled.

"I didn't," Hermione confessed as Voldemort took a seat on the bed, facing her.

"So what did you come for?" Voldemort pressed.

"I want to know when we can fight," Hermione said. "I know you want us to finish our eduction, and I know you want us to be prepared, but it's been over two years now. Isn't it killing you that Dumbledore is still walking around as though nothings happened? He's still out there, spreading his lies and having people worship the ground he walks on. How can you live, knowing that he hasn't yet be punished?"

"I live with it, because I know it's a temporary thing," Voldemort replied. "And do you not think he's spent the last two years worrying himself sick over what's going to happen? Do you not think he frets over what our move will be, and when it will come? He's not an idiot, Hope, he knows as well as we do that this is far from over. Every day he must wake up wondering if this will be the day we strike."

"So you're saying we've been torturing him for two years?" Hermione snorted.

"I'm not sure I would go that far, but I doubt these last two years have been any easier on him than they have been for us," Voldemort replied. "But we've got the upper hand, Hope. We're the ones choosing to wait, not him. We're the ones who'll decide when and where to make out move. He doesn't have that option, because he doesn't know where the hell we are."

"I know we've got the upper hand, and I know we're in charge of what happens next," Hermione conceded. "But I'm tired of waiting. I was happy to wait two years ago. I wasn't ready for what lay ahead. I hadn't allowed myself to embrace my darker side."

"But now you have," Voldemort said. "Now you are ready. Is that what you're saying?"

"It is," Hermione confirmed. "And Draco and Harry are ready as well. I know Harry hasn't had as much training as Draco and I, but he's a natural fighter. And you can't honestly doubt his loyalty, not any more."

"I have no doubts over Harry," Voldemort confirmed. "And I agree with you. The three of you are ready for almost anything."

"Does this mean we get to see action soon?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"It means, it's time we started make firm plans for the future," Voldemort replied. "I still want you to finish your education, but we can start planning for after that."

"You mean we're going home?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Yes, Hope, we're going home," Voldemort replied with a low chuckle. "Not only are we going to bring down Dumbledore and his Order, but we're going to take complete control. I'm going to give you the world, Hope."

"I don't want the world, just revenge on Dumbledore and the Order," Hermione replied honestly. Even now she wasn't fussed about taking over as her father desired, but at the same time she wasn't going to oppose him and stop him from doing what he wanted.

"And we will get it," Voldemort vowed, leaning forward and taking hold of Hermione's hands in his. "They're going to pay for what they did to you, and to your mother."

"And you," Hermione added. "You get so focused on what they did to me, and how they destroyed my mother, that you forget how much they hurt you. They ruined your life. They broke your heart, and even having me back doesn't make up for the years of heartache."

"No, it doesn't," Voldemort agreed quietly. "But bringing down those who hurt us will make it all so much easier to bear. And now we don't have long to wait."

"I can't wait," Hermione grinned. "And in the mean time, make sure they know that worse is to come."

"Don't worry sweetheart, what we've got planned is merely a drop in the ocean compared to what's to befall them before the end of the year," Voldemort promised. "And how about when I come back, we all sit down and start making some plans for our triumphant return. In fact, I was hoping Draco would reach out to his friends before we head back. I could do with some eager youngsters to bolster the troops."

"I'm sure Draco's friends will be thrilled to join us," Hermione replied. She knew full well that her boyfriend still kept in touch with his friends, and she also knew that the young Slytherins hated Dumbledore and his Order for driving their best friend out of the country. "Does this mean I can tell Harry and Draco the good news?"

"Go ahead," Voldemort agreed with a smile. "And Happy New Year, Hope."

"Happy New Year, Daddy," Hermione returned, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly. "And thank you."

"You've earned it, darling," Voldemort replied. "You all have. You've all been patient and have worked hard. Now it's time for that patience and hard work to pay off."

Thanking her father yet again, Hermione wished him a good trip, before all but skipping out of his room in excitement. Hermione had left Harry and Draco in Draco's room, playing chess and when she returned, they were still engrossed in their game. However, both of them could see she was bursting with news, so they took a break from their game to find out why she was almost bouncing on the spot.

"It's happening," she declared happily.

"What's happening?" Draco asked.

"The war," Hermione answered. "I've just spoken to father, and he's confirmed that we're going to start planning our battle strategy when he come back from England."

"We're going to see some action?" Draco checked with a wide grin. Like Hermione he was eager to actually do something other than prepare for a war that had been a long time coming.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed. "Once we've finished our schooling, we're going home."

"That's great, isn't it, Harry?" Draco enthused, turning to include the raven haired wizard in their excitement.

"I guess so," Harry replied quietly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to her best friend. "I thought you were on board with this, Harry."

"I am," Harry confirmed. "But what if I'm not ready? You've been preparing for this for over two years, I've had a few months. What if I'm not good enough? What if when I come face to face with someone from the Order, I can't cope?"

"By the time we're ready to go, you'll have been practising for a year," Hermione pointed out. "But even if we went right now, you would be ready. You're a natural, Harry. Even father thinks so."

"Yeah, you've come on so much in just a few months," Draco agreed.

"And what if I chicken out?" Harry asked. "What if when it comes down to it, I can't fight against the Order?"

"I believe in you, Harry," Hermione said, smiling reassuringly at her friend. "I understand your doubts, because I've got the same ones. But don't forget that you gave father a list of people who opposed Dumbledore. We won't be fighting anyone who doesn't deserve it."

"I know," Harry conceded. "And I'm sure we won't be going in without a solid plan."

"Of course not," Hermione chuckled. "Everything will be planned down to the tiniest detail. Oh, and speaking of which, father wants you to get in touch with your friends, Draco. He wants some young blood he can recruit."

"I can bring him plenty of young blood," Draco said with a nod. "I was once the Slytherin prince, and held great sway with the other Slytherins."

"There's no need to brag," Hermione laughed. "You're no longer the Slytherin prince. Now you're just plain old, Draco."

"I am not old," Draco pouted. "And I am not plain."

"If you two are going to bicker, I might leave you to it," Harry laughed as he got to his feet.

"What about the game?" Draco asked, gesturing to the half played game of chess.

"One minute," Harry muttered, leaning over the board and making the move he'd been preparing to make when Hermione had entered the room. "Checkmate," he grinned.

"Sod it," Draco cursed. "I should have let you go and called it a draw."

"Too late, now I'm the champion," Harry laughed as he wandered out of the room.

"Poor baby," Hermione chuckled, moving so she was sitting on Draco's lap. "Maybe I can cheer you up."

"What did you have in mind?" Draco asked, suddenly forgetting his lost chess game.

"We've got a lot to celebrate," Hermione replied. "Midnight is the start of a new year, and it's going to be our year, I can feel it."

"How does that cheer me up?" Draco questioned.

"I thought we should start the year as we mean to go on," Hermione said. "I'm sure we'll be watching the fireworks as a family, but afterwards I thought I could come back to your room."

"But what about the three fathers?" Draco asked. "We don't want to get in trouble?"

"All they asked was that we waited until we were sure," Hermione said. "I am sure Draco. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want to start the new year in the right way. Unless you don't want me."

"I want you," Draco confirmed, pulling Hermione into a deep kiss. "And I like the idea of spending the night together. Let's bring the year in with a bang, shall we?"

Thrilled with the prospect of not just spending her first night in Draco's bed, but of what was to come in a few months time, Hermione celebrated the New Year with a huge smile on her face. Finally after over two years of patience, it was nearly time to act. Over the other side of the world, Dumbledore would also soon be welcoming in the New Year, but what he didn't know was that it would be his last. The coming year was going to belong to the dark, of that Hermione was certain.

 _ **To be continued...**_

* * *

 **A/N – So this brings up to the end of part 2 of the trilogy. Part 3 will be hopefully be posted later in the year. To be honest I've only got a handful of chapters of the third part done as I've been focusing on other stories, so there will be a delay before the next part is ready to go. But when it is ready to go, I will post a note on this story so no-one should miss out on the start of part 3.**

 **I also just want to take a few moments to thank people for reading and reviewing. The amazing support I get on this site never ceases to amaze me, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. So thanks for reading, and hopefully part 3 will start making progress and will be ready to be published sooner rather than later.**


	16. Part 3

**A/N – Just a quick note to say that the third part of the trilogy – Revel in Darkness – has finally been posted, and to thank you all for your patience during this long delay.**


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